


EXOlogy

by cx99



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Multi, OT12 (EXO), OT9 (EXO), Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:49:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 51,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29041164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cx99/pseuds/cx99
Summary: Nine ordinary highschool students destined to save the world they live in.Adventure and romance awaits them.  Will they make it?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun
Kudos: 15





	1. The Eve

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic. I'm open to your constructive criticism. Just let me know! :)  
> I hope EXO-Ls enjoy this :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We must break it apart and clash against it  
> So we can see ourselves  
> We must shout out loud  
> So it spreads wide and far  
> The moment soft lights spread out  
> And chases away the darkness  
> We must wake up again  
> To the new morning"

# The Eve

> Early Monday morning, in the Kim’s household, Minseok was the first one to get up from bed, awaken by his alarm. As soon as he got up, he made his bed neatly and went straight to the bathroom to get ready for the first day of school. Once fully dressed for school, he went to check on his twin brother who is still under his blanket with no sign of waking up anytime soon. “Myeonie, wake up! We’re going to be late!”, Minseok said as he removes the blanket off Junmyeon. Junmyeon then sat up and stare at nothing for a while then groaned and went to their bathroom. Minseok chuckled at his brother before going down to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and prepare their breakfast.
> 
> Minseok and Junmyeon are fraternal twins. Minseok is a few minutes older that Junmyeon and would like to think of himself as the older one even though they are twins. Junmyeon thinks this is really adorable so he calls his twin hyung to humor him. They both have the same height and milky soft skins and likes corny dad jokes but the similarities end there. Minseok have a cute baby face with adorable cat eyes while Junmyeon have a bubbly face with mochi cheeks and eyes that turns to crescent moons when smiling. Their parents are both doctors and since they know that the twins are both responsible, they trust them to take care of themselves when they’re not around.
> 
> As Minseok was about to plate the eggs and bacon for their breakfast, Junmyeon came down, fully dressed and ready for school as well. “Good morning hyung! That looks great!” he said as he sat down and drink his own coffee prepared by his hyung as well. “Thanks. Now let’s eat quickly so we can go to school already” Minseok said then gulp down his second cup of coffee. After they ate, they cleaned up and then head outside. As Junmyeon was locking the door, Lay, their childhood friend came running towards them from across the street “Good morning Min, Myeon! Are you guys ready?”. “Yup. Let’s go.”, Minseok answered.
> 
> Yixing Zhang or Lay is the twin’s best friend ever since they can remember. He is a gentle and kind-hearted boy. He is a little bit taller than the two and has a cute dimple in his handsome face. The three of them are always together since their kindergarten days. Yixing’s family migrated from China when he was just 5 years old and moved at the house across the Kim’s house. When they first met, they hardly understand each other but Minseok and Junmyeon were determined to help him learn their language and culture as they grow. They were inseparable ever since and always had each other’s back. They basically consider Yixing as their own brother.
> 
> As the three of them walk side by side and talking, two boys came running to them, one of them shouted to get their attention, “Minseok-hyung! Junmyeon-hyung! Lay-hyung!”. The three of them turn their heads and saw Jongdae and Jongin running towards them. They all laugh at Jongdae who’s shouting so loud that other people around them are starting to stare at him as well. “Hyuuung! You’re so loud. It’s too early to be shouting like that!” Jongin, his younger brother whined at him while running as well. Jongdae just shrug and put his arms over his younger brother’s shoulder.
> 
> Jongdae and Jongin are brothers and they’re cousins of the twins. Their fathers are brothers and their family just moved to their city last year. Jongdae is 1 year younger than Minseok, Junmyeon and Yixing. He is a loud and whiny boy but other than that he is a very fun guy to be with. He has small face with an adorable smile because of the corner of his lips are always up. Jongin or Kai, even though 1 year younger than his brother, is tall handsome boy. He has a sexy manly aura around him but don’t let it fool you because he’s actually a really sweet and soft baby.
> 
> The five boys continued to walk to their school while talking about what they did during summer. When they reached the school grounds, Jongdae saw his friends sitting at a bench under a large tree and shouted again which surprises the rest of the group, “Chanyeoool! Baekhyuuun!”. The two boys look up and waved their hands to Jongdae. “You go ahead guys! Bye!” he said to the group and run towards his friends. The others waved goodbye and continued walking towards the main building and to their respective classes.
> 
> “Good morning! Where’s DO?” Jongdae asked as he sat between his friends. “He’s in the student council room. Why are you so loud early in the morning?!” Chanyeol asked. “He’s always been like that. Why do you even have to ask?” Baekhyun said before Jongdae answers. “Awww. I miss you guys!” Jongdae said (loudly again) as he put his arms around his friends’ shoulders. The other two just sighed and let him be.
> 
> The three of them just met and became friends last year. They are all transferees and once they started talking, they just clicked. Chanyeol is a tall boy with big ears that won’t go unnoticeable once you see him. He has a deep voice and is always smiling ear to ear. You can’t help but smile as well when you see him smiling. Baekhyun is the mood maker of their group. He has a very cute bubbly, puppy-like face. He always like to tease people around him especially DO. DO or Kyungsoo is also their classmate and friend. He has a serious looking face with big round eyes like a peguin. He’s a member of the student council together with Junmyeon. DO was the one who showed the three transferees around the school on their first day. He is a reserved and quiet boy who prefers being alone but that didn’t stop the other three on befriending him. Eventually he just accepted them as his friends.
> 
> After catching up for a while, the three got up and walked towards the main building and head to their first class. As they enter their classroom, they saw DO already sitting on a chair beside the window looking outside. The three automatically sit at the chairs surrounding DO. “Good morning. Where have you guys been? Class is about to start.” DO said as the three sits around him. “We were just catching up outside. Besides, we still have 5 minutes before class starts. We’re not late.” Baekhyun answered. “How was your summer?” Chanyeol asked DO. “Hmm. Fine. Just stayed at home.” DO answered. “Awaaaee?! You should have gone somewhere and enjoyed your free time! You just wasted your summer!” Jongdae whined (loudly). “Shhhh! Lower your voice, will you? I’m just right beside you not across the field.” DO scolded. The other three just laughed.
> 
> Jongin entered his classroom looking for his best friend. He spotted him at the back of the class, arms and head on the table, sleeping. “Sehun! Sehun!” Jongin shakes the boy to wake him up. “Whaaat? 5 more minutes!” Sehun groaned. Jongin laugh at his friend and let him be. He sits in the chair at Sehun’s front and just scroll through his phone.
> 
> Sehun is Jongin’s best friend. They also met just last year, both of them were freshmen and new to the school. They joined the dance club after learning their same love for dancing and bonded over it. Sehun is also a tall and handsome boy with sharp features. He looks mature for his age and always have a resting bitch face but he’s actually kind and sweet like Jongin once you get to know him.
> 
> Minseok, Junmyeon and Yixing entered their classroom and sat at the front of the class. “Hyung, Yixing – I won’t be joining you for lunch later.” Junmyeon said when they were seated. “Why? You’re not going to eat?” Yixing ask. “I will. But I have to eat in the student council room, we need to discuss upcoming school activity.” Junmyeon responded while massaging his temple. “You should take it easy. It’s just the first day back and you’re stressing already.” His twin said worried. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” Junmyeon responded smiling at his twin and Yixing. “Okay we’ll be at the cafeteria if you need us.” Minseok replied.
> 
> The bell rang marking the start of their morning classes. The 9 of them went through their own classes, some bored and not listening, others are actually paying attention.
> 
> After hours of brain activities, the bell finally rang for lunch time and students started to head out of their classrooms and go to the cafeteria.
> 
> Junmyeon went out first and went straight to the student council room. He was the first to arrive followed by Kyungsoo, the junior rep. “Hi hyung! How’s your first day so far?” Kyungsoo asked as he entered the room. “Hi Kyungsoo! It was fine I guess. Nothing special. How about you?” Junmyeon asked back. “It was okay. It was hard to concentrate when my friends won’t stop talking and distracting me”, DO complained. Junmyeon just laughed and the rest of the student council came in with food for all of them.
> 
> They ate while discussing the first activity of the school year. They are planning for a School Clubs Fair. This event will help students to participate in extra-curricular activities and pursue their passion outside academics. They were able to finalize the logistics and proposal for the activity a few minutes before the lunch time ended. They still have a little bit of time to meet up with their friends so Junmyeon and DO went to the school cafeteria together to go look for their friends.
> 
> As they enter, they can already hear Jongdae’s voice whining about something. Junmyeon and DO looked at each other and laugh while shaking their heads. They saw Jongdae at the corner long table together with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Junmyeon was about to look for his brother and Lay when DO tug his sleeves and point at them. They are at the end of the same table where Jongdae, Chanyeol and Baekhyun are, both laughing at the three juniors. Junmyeon and DO headed to their friends. “Did we miss something, why are you guys together?” Junmyeon asked. “We couldn’t find any available tables earlier so Min-hyung let us sit with them.”, Jongdae answered. “I apologize if these idiots bothered you.”, DO said and bowed to Minseok and Lay. “No worries. They are actually fun to be with.”, Lay answered smiling looking at the three who are eyes wide and mouth open, mocking hurt by DO’s words. “Hey! We’re not idiots, you midget!” shouted Baekhyun. The rest laugh while DO stared daggers at Baekhyun. “You’re just a few centimeters taller than me!” DO talked back which earned another laugh from the group.
> 
> As they continue with their banter, Jongin approach his brother with Sehun following behind him, “Hyung, I’ll go to Sehun’s place after school.”. “Awae?”, Jongdae asked. “I asked Kai to help me with my dancing before the club activities start. Is it okay with you hyung?” Sehun answered shyly while holding the bottom of his shirt. He’s nervous talking in front of his seniors although they are all acquainted. He glances quickly around and saw Junmyeon looking at him. Their eyes met for a while and smiled at each other. He avoided his eyes immediately after. His cheeks tinted with pink.
> 
> He never told anyone but he always had a big crush on Junmyeon since last year when he met him in the library. The library was full at that time and he’s trying to find an available seat. Junmyeon noticed him immediately and let him sit across him in his table beside the window. Ever since that day, he always found himself looking at Junmyeon whenever possible. Junmyeon was fond of him and will always talk to him when they meet in the hallway which makes his heart flutters specially when Junmyeon is smiling at him with those eyes and mochi cheeks. He always wondered what it would feel like to touch those mochi cheeks.
> 
> “Okay fine. Just don’t stay out too late”, Jongdae said to both. The bell rang marking the end of lunch time. As they all stand up, Junmyeon suddenly felt something. An eerie feeling that someone’s watching them. “Myeonie are you okay?” his twin asked sensing something’s wrong. “Y-yeah. I’m fine. I just felt something weird for a moment.” He answered smiling. He chose to disregard what he felt and they all went to their next classes.
> 
> The rest of the day went by in a flash. Classes ended and the students started filling the hallways again. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongdae and DO went to their lockers. “Let’s go to karaoke and celebrate!”, Baekhyun told his friends as he slam his locker. “Celebrate what?” DO asked. “End of our first day of school, of course!” replied lively. “Call!” Chanyeol and Jongdae agreed simultaneously. “Hmmm. Fine. But I’m not going to stay out late.” DO agreed after. They closed their lockers and head out. As they approach the gates, they spotted their seniors - Minseok, Junmyeon and Yixing. “Hyuuuuung!” Jongdae shouted. The three turned back and saw the four heading towards them. “Come join us! We’re going to celebrate!” Chanyeol asked them. “Whose birthday is it?” Yixing asked. “No one! We’re just going to celebrate the end of our first day!” Baekhyun answered. Minseok and Junmyeon laughed. “Okay we’ll join you guys. But we can’t stay long alright? There’s still classes tomorrow.” Minseok said. “YES!!!” Chanyeol, Jongdae and Baekhyun shouted and DO smiled.
> 
> The seven of them had fun at the karaoke together. They sang their hearts out and enjoyed each other’s company. After a few hours of singing and laughing, they decided it’s time to head home. Minseok, Junmyeon, Yixing and Jongdae all went home together since they lived in the same area. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and DO went the other way. They said their goodbyes and promised to eat together at lunch.
> 
> Days have passed and the seniors and juniors unknowingly spend more time together during lunch and after school. They became one group of friends naturally. The seniors didn’t mind hanging out with the juniors because they’re actually having fun with them. Minseok grew closer to Baekhyun and his cousin when they found their similar interests in singing and music. Junmyeon also grew closer with DO since they’re both members of the student council while Yixing and Chanyeol mostly talk about their guitars and composing music. It became a routine to sit in one table during lunch and sometimes, Jongin and Sehun also joins them but doesn’t stay long after eating because they want to practice their dance routines in one of the empty classrooms. The group also hangs out after school, exploring the city and trying out different tteokbokki shops until they find their favorite shop. Junmyeon and DO usually stay behind because of their Student Council meetings but they made sure to follow them after.
> 
> One night, the student council meeting was held up late to prepare for the upcoming School’s Club Fair. Junmyeon and DO was exhausted by the end of their meeting and disappointed that they were not able to join their friends but they’re happy at the same time since the long meeting is finally over.
> 
> They’re heading out to grab something to eat before going home when they bumped into Jongin and Sehun. The two just finished their dance practice in preparation for the club fair to recruit more members and were also looking for something to eat. Junmyeon immediately smiled when he realized that it was Sehun he bumped into. Sehun’s face turned pink when he saw Junmyeon smiling at him again with those eyes and mochi cheeks. Jongin was the only one who noticed his reaction but didn’t say anything. “Hi Myeon-hyung! What are you doing here?” Jongin asked his cousin. “We’re looking for something to eat before going home.” Junmyeon answered and Jongin noticed the guy behind his cousin. DO smiled slightly at the younger. “Oh! Hi DO-hyung!” Jongin greeted with a blush creeping in his face. “Hello” DO greeted back. “What are you doing here? Does your brother know you’re out at this time?” Junmyeon asked. “Yes hyung. We just had another practice and we got hungry so we’re looking for something to eat as well.” Jongin answered while Sehun nodded beside him unable to talk. “Oh, okay then why don’t you join us? We’re thinking of having tteokbokki and bubble tea.” Junmyeon offered. Sehun got excited just thinking of eating with Junmyeon and having bubble tea so before Jongin can even respond he said “Yes!” a little louder than it should be. Jongin noticed his best friend’s weird behavior again but didn’t say anything… yet. He’s planning on asking him later.
> 
> The four then went to a nearby bubble tea shop first and Junmyeon paid for all their drinks. After buying their bubble tea, they went to the tteokbokki shop their friends recommended next. Apparently, it’s the groups favorite shop now as per Chanyeol. They ordered and paid for their food then sat in a corner table. Junmyeon and Jongin are talking about school and their family. “I don’t know how I became his brother. He’s really loud aaall the time! I think my ears are already damaged.” Jongin complained to Junmyeon. The latter just laughed but understand at the same time. Junmyeon noticed that Sehun is looking at him so he talked to him, “How are you Sehun? Any problems at school? You can come to me if you need help. You know that right?” Junmyeon said smiling. “Okay hyung. I will. Thank you.” Sehun replied blushing and smiling. Jongin noticed again. Sehun isn’t usually like this, smiling and blushing. He ignored it for now.
> 
> “DO-hyung, are you usually this quiet? Aren’t you friends with my brother? Does he bother you a lot?” Jongin bombarded the older with questions. “Yes, I’m usually quiet. Yes, he’s my friend and No he doesn’t bother me that much. He’s actually fun to be with. But I wish he can lower his voice sometimes.” DO answered respectively then smiled slightly at him. Jongin laughed at his answer then looked down, “Lucky Jongdae-hyung” he muttered to himself but the rest didn’t seem to hear. They continued talking for a while and finished their food then headed home. Junmyeon went with Jongin and DO went with Sehun heading the other way.
> 
> As Junmyeon and Jongin walks home together, the older asked “Do you like Kyungsoo?”. Jongin spun his head quickly to his hyung, looking panicked. “I noticed you keep looking at him earlier.” Junmyeon teased the younger. Jongin blushed at his hyung’s observation. “Maybe a little.”, he confessed and Junmyeon laughed. “Hyuuung! Please, don’t tell him!” he added quickly after. Junmyeon laughed again at his adorable cousin. “I won’t tell. Don’t worry.” Junmyeon said smiling. Jongin smiled back then they said their goodbyes and separated going in their own homes.
> 
> On the other side, Sehun has something bothering him since they left the tteokbokki shop and after a while, he finally mustered courage to ask DO, “DO-hyung, are you Junmyeon-hyung’s boyfriend?” Sehun asked in a low shy voice. DO’s eyes widen and then laughed. “No, I’m not. We’re just friends and both members of the student council so we’re almost always together.” He answered while smiling adorably at Sehun. The younger visibly relaxed and smiled as well. DO doesn’t want to pry so he didn’t ask more but he understands that Sehun must like Junmyeon-hyung. “He’s not dating anyone.” DO informed Sehun after a while and the younger tried to hide his smile but failed. The two walked home in a comfortable silence then said their goodbyes as they went their separate ways.
> 
> More days have passed and the friends continued on their normal high school lives and grew even more closer than before. They go on with their everyday lives peacefully with nothing but school work problems. But everything is not exactly what they seem. Nearby someone’s watching the friends, observing them. They didn’t know that in a few more days, their normal lives will soon change.
> 
> It’s Friday and is the day of the School’s Club Fair. Classes were cut half-day and the student body is currently at the open field after lunch. The open field is now filled with different decorated booths. Each booth assigned with 1 school club – Music, Dance, Theatre, Science, Math, Baking, Book and etc. Aside from the booths for the clubs, there are also a variety of food trucks available. Everyone is busy either recruiting members or looking for clubs to join or looking for something to eat.
> 
> Junmyeon and Kyungsoo are walking around inspecting the booths and at the same time, they’re also looking for a club they can join, something they can handle while they’re also doing their tasks as student council members. “What club are you thinking of joining Kyungsoo?” Junmyeon asked. “Hmmm. I’m thinking of the Bake Club. How about you hyung?” Kyungsoo asked back. “I think Book Club – umph.” Junmyeon was cut off when he bumped into someone. He closed his eyes as he almost fell but the other guy turned quickly and caught him by his arms and hold him on his lower back to prevent the fall. Junmyeon opened his eyes and saw piercing eyes looking down at him worried. “Se-Sehunnie…” Junmyeon muttered. Sehun’s eyes grew wide and blushed but helped Junmyeon to stand up properly then rub the back of his neck as he stares at his feet avoiding Junmyeon’s eyes. Junmyeon’s heart beats fast and blushed as well but thought it was just because he was scared and surprised. Kyungsoo witnessed the whole thing and is hiding his smile. “Hyung, I think I need something to drink. I’ll leave you here for a moment.” Kyungsoo left the two for a while giving them a chance to talk alone. He looked at Sehun with teasing eyes and the younger blushed even more.
> 
> “I’m sorry hyung. A-are you okay?” Sehun asked nervously. “No-no. I’m fine. It’s my fault. I was not looking.” Junmyeon answered. “I should be the one apologizing, are you okay?” he added. Sehun just nodded, not trusting his own voice. He is too nervous to talk to him alone that he keeps fidgeting but Junmyeon doesn’t seem to notice. He was about to ask Junmyeon something when an arm was put around Junmyeon’s shoulders. “Are you going to join our Dance club Myeonie?” the owner of the arms asked. Junmyeon turned to his side then smiled at the guy which somehow irritates Sehun. “Of course not, Yixing! You know I don’t dance” Junmyeon replied laughing at him which adds to Sehun’s irritation. Jongin then came to his best friend side and notice his best friend staring daggers to their senior dancer. “I know you don’t. I was almost injured when I taught you to dance one time!” Yixing teased Junmyeon which results to the latter punching him playfully. Sehun was angry-jealous at this point. When Jongin sensed this, he excused themselves from their seniors and drag his best friend to the direction of the food trucks. Junmyeon was a little bit disappointed when the younger left but he let them be, not wanting to be clingy. DO saw the 2 younger boys and asked “Where’s Junmyeon-hyung? Why are you here?”. Sehun still angry didn’t answer but instead looked back. Kyungsoo look at the same direction and saw the two seniors laughing. He sighed as he understood that Sehun is jealous. He offered him a drink to comfort him but Jongin took it. “Thank you hyung!” he said as he sips at the drink then wink at Kyungsoo. The older blushed then turned away and head back to Junmyeon now with Yixing. Sehun and Jongin walked away as well and searched for something to eat. “What was that all about?” Sehun asked but Jongin just shrugged. “I should ask you the same question.” Jongin responded, one eyebrow arched, questioning. Both pause for a moment then laughed and talked about their crushes.
> 
> At the Music club booth, Minseok is diligently handing out flyers to students passing by when Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae called him to get his attention. Minseok smiled at them and asked them to come closer. The three get closer to their hyung. “You guys are all good singers, right? Why don’t you join our club? Pleeaase!” Minseok asked the three using his aegyo. Baekhyun and Jongdae looked at each other. “Sure why not?” Jongdae agreed. “Sure!” Baekhyun agreed as well. They were planning to join the club anyway. Then they looked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol made a show of thinking hard but then agreed in the end after Baekhyun stared up at him with his puppy eyes. Chanyeol can’t resist those eyes but of course he will not admit that in front of his friends. “YES! Finally, I’ve done my job. I can go now!” Minseok exclaimed and the three just laughed at him because he looked really cute. How can their hyung looked this cute. Minseok gave them forms to fill out then once they were done, the four of them left the booth and looked for the rest of their friends.
> 
> Junmyeon, Yixing and Kyungsoo are currently eating tteokbokki under a huge tree when the four found them. Baekhyun immediately took one bite when they arrived at the spot and followed by another bite as he sat down. The sun is setting already and the club booths are starting to close while the food trucks are still busy with customers. The wind is blowing lightly, enough to enjoy sitting and relaxing under the shade of the huge tree. The friends are talking and relaxing when it was disturbed by Jongdae. “Jongin-aaaah!!!” Jongdae shouted at his brother who is walking with Sehun while eating. Jongdae waved at them and motioned them to come to their spot. Jongin sighed at his loud brother but still went to them dragging Sehun along. Sehun calmed down already but is still a bit irritated. He saw Junmyeon sitting next to Yixing and his twin. He suppressed his irritation and let Jongin drag him to the group.
> 
> “Come sit here with us!” Jongdae said. The two younger sat with them and they formed a circle. As they sit, Sehun glanced at Junmyeon and saw that the older is already looking at him and smiling his favorite smile. He smiled back at Junmyeon blushing again, his irritation now gone. Junmyeon noticed the blush and thought Sehun looked really cute at that moment but then he suddenly felt that eerie feeling of being watched again and his shoulder tensed. He looked around but there’s no one seems to be paying attention to their group. He dismissed that feeling again and turn his attention back to his friends.
> 
> “Let’s play a game!” Chanyeol suggested. “Call!” Jongdae and Baekhyun agreed. DO smiled at his friends. The seniors agreed as well. “What game?” Jongin asked. “Hmmm. How about frying pan game with 8 beats? You guys know that right?” Chanyeol asked looking around the circle. “Ugh. I’m bad at that game.” Junmyeon said pouting. Minseok laughed at this knowing how bad his twin is at this game. His twin really has no sense of rhythm. Sehun looked at how cute Junmyeon pouting is and badly wanted to go to his side and hug him. “Game! What’s the punishment for the loser?” Baekhyun asked the group interrupting Sehun’s thought. “Indian Bop” Kyungsoo suggested smiling with a hint of mischief in his eyes. Baekhyun and Chanyeol shuddered. They know how brutal Kyungsoo can get when it comes to the Indian Bop punishment. They vowed to never lose and Jongin laughed at them.
> 
> They played the game for almost an hour and as expected Junmyeon lost almost all the rounds except for the rounds Sehun purposely lose to save Junmyeon. Chanyeol lost once because he was too excited to attack Kyungsoo but missed a beat. Kyungsoo then took this opportunity and give his all in the punishment and adding a tag at Chanyeol’s hair at the end. Everyone laughed hard at this, eyes filling with tears and collapsing in the ground for laughing too hard. They were having a lot of fun and didn’t notice that almost all of the students went home already and the food trucks are already closed. After a few more minutes of playing, they decided to stop since they are the only ones left in the field and it’s getting late already.
> 
> They started to get up and get ready to leave when suddenly all the lights went out and they were surrounded with total darkness. They were all surprised and scared. Jongin went to his brother’s side immediately tagging Sehun along. Xiumin held Junmyeon’s and Yixing’s hands. The group huddled close and Chanyeol put his arm around Baekhyun. Baekhyun get his phone from his pocket and try to turn on the flashlight but his phone is dead. The others did the same but all their phones are dead as well. They are all now nervous and looking around trying to see in the dark but they didn’t dare to move. “What’s happening?” Yixing voice out what they’re all thinking. Junmyeon had the same eerie feeling again but stronger this time. He senses that someone or something is watching them nearby but he can’t see anything. He shuddered and Minseok drew him closer to his side.
> 
> “Hello my dear children.” A voice in the dark said and they all flinched. “Wh-who’s out there? Where are you? What do you w-want?” Junmyeon said out loud trying to hide his fear while holding his twin’s hand for support. “I mean no harm to you children. I need your help. We need your help.” The voice in the dark replied sounding desperate. “Why don’t you show yourself?” Chanyeol shouted angrily. A few seconds later, an orb floats in front of them. The group stepped back, afraid of what the orb can do to them. “Again, I mean no harm so please don’t be afraid. We really need your help. I have limited power in this realm and this is the only way I can communicate with you. I don’t have enough strength to show you my full form.”, the voice from the orb said. The group stayed quiet, afraid to talk but Minseok broke their silence, “Who are you? What do you want from us?”. “I’m one of the 12 original guardians of this world. I am Lumos. I can explain everything but not here. It’s too dangerous. We can talk in our safe haven where we can all be safe. So please, I need you guys to come with me.” Lumos explained. “Why should we trust you? What if you’re just going to kill us?” Baekhyun asked quietly. “My dear child, if I want to harm you in anyway, I would have done so already. And besides, I don’t have any intention of harming our only hope. I will bring you back here after I explain everything. I promise.” The group looked at each other and thinking but it sounds like they don’t have much of a choice anyway, as long as they will not be separated from each other. Junmyeon looked at each of his friends and they nodded at him. “Okay we’ll come with you.”, Junmyeon said on behalf of the group.
> 
> “Thank you Suho. All of you, please touch the orb and you’ll be transported to our safe haven.” Lumos said. They were confused on why she called Junmyeon ‘Suho’ but they all did what Lumos instructed them. They touched the orb and in a split second they’re in a dome room with white walls and floors.
> 
> “Woah! That was cool!” Jongin said grinning. They all looked around the room they’re in, adjusting to the sudden brightness. As they look around, their eyes landed on someone standing or rather floating in the center of the dome. She is the most beautiful girl they’ve seen, glowing and smiling sweetly at them. It’s Lumos in her full form. “Welcome to our safe haven new guardians!”.

### To be continued...


	2. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don’t hesitate Move on  
> Come on, there’s no time  
> Your future depends on your imagination  
> Throw away your fears, we are allowed to  
> Because you hold every key"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! I'm trying to find the perfect EXO song to match my chapters. haha!  
> I'm still working on the third though. This is harder than I thought. :P  
> We'll update as soon as I can! :)

# Power

“Welcome to our safe haven new guardians!” Lumos said smiling fondly at the 9 boys in front of her. The boys were speechless for a moment. Not sure what to say, what to ask, where to start. All of them are confused, scared and curious at the same time. Junmyeon is the first to break from their trance. “New guardians? I’m sorry but what do you mean? You’re not making sense right now. Where are we exactly? What do you want from us?” Junmyeon asked continuously, while the others continued staring at Lumos waiting for answers, unable to find their own voice.

“I’m going to explain everything. I will, but please have a sit first my dears.” Lumos responded calmly. She waved her hand and 9 glass chairs with fluffy cloud-like cushions appeared out of the blue. The boys were surprised and amazed but said nothing and just sat down. When they are settled down, Lumos began to explain, “Firstly, you need to know that this world is being protected by 12 guardians and I’m one of them. We are protecting the world from dark creatures, demons and monsters who are now scattered and hiding in your realm, just waiting for the right time to attack and cause chaos. They are gathering strength as we speak, and growing stronger day by day.”. “Demons? Seriously? Aren’t those just stories or myths?” Sehun interrupted. The others looked at the youngest, quietly agreeing but Lumos just smiled at him. Lumos waved her hand again and a screen appeared in front of them. It’s not an actual screen but more like a hologram. Different demons in different sizes and colors causing chaos were displayed. The 9 boys stared at the screen, wide eyes, becoming more nervous than before. “I’m afraid they’re all real and they are now in your realm”, Lumos continued. The boys are silent again waiting for her to continue.

“In this world, there are currently three known realms. The first is the realm you live in, where all humans live in – we call it Exo’rdium. The second realm is this place we’re currently at, our safe haven. We call this realm the Elyxion, the home of the guardians. And the last realm, the home of all dark and evil creatures, demons, monsters - Exo’luxion.” Lumos explained. Kyungsoo raised his hand before Lumos can continue. Everyone looked at DO, Baekhyun snickered and then whispered to Jongdae, “Why is he raising his hand like he’s in class?”. Jongdae chuckled with Baekhyun and Chanyeol as well after hearing what Baekhyun said earning an irritated look from Kyungsoo which immediately shut the three up. “If there’s a different realm for those demons like you said, then why are they in our realm right now?” Kyungsoo asked ignoring Baekhyun’s side comment.

Lumos’ expression darkens as she continues her story, “Those demons are actually ruled by the 3 most powerful dark creatures in Exo’luxion. Together they are called the Red Force. They were all dormant for thousands of years but around 50 years ago, they started to stir and one by one wakes up from their long slumber. They naturally caused chaos in both of our realms but your realm was the most impacted. What might look as natural disasters were actually caused by the Red Force’s awakening. We tried our best to protect both of our realms from them but we’re not as strong as we were before. We are weakening as we grew older these thousands of years. And the Red Force are still at their peak of power after staying dormant for thousands of years.”.

“Hold on, guardian Lumos. You said there are 12 guardians. Where are they?” Minseok asked. “Yes, there were 12 guardians, each guardian has their own unique powers. We all fought at the best way we can but it’s not enough. I’ve lost them, the other guardians, my friends, my family. I’m the last original guardian left.” Lumos paused for a while trying to control her emotion, not wanting to show her weakness. “As I said earlier, we are already weak after protecting the world for thousands of years. And as the Red Force awakens with full power, the other guardians did their best to fight them but were not strong enough. We were able to stop them for now, slow them down but soon, they will make their move. Gathering more strength, planning and waiting for the right time to attack again.”

“We’re truly sorry for your loss. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been to lose your friends and family like that but what are we supposed to do? As you said we’re just children. We don’t have powers like the guardians. Why did you ask us for help?” Junmyeon said standing up from his sit, panicking on where the story is heading. Lumos smiled at them then waved her hands again. The walls around the dome open revealing 8 orbs with different colors – Light Blue, Dark Blue, Light Green, Dark Green, Yellow, Red, Violet and Grey. Lumos then open her palm and revealed a white. With another wave from her other hand, the other 8 orbs came floating around her. The 9 boys stared in awe, each drawn to each of the orbs.

“These are the powers of the past guardians. They left it with me before they passed away and asked me to pass them down to their successors.” Lumos gestured to the floating orbs. “I thought you said there were twelve guardians, meaning 12 powers, right? I can only see 9 orbs.” Yixing asked the last guardian. She smiled again before speaking, “The other three orbs are now in the possession of their new owners. You will meet them soon, my dear.”. “Are you saying those orbs, those powers will be ours?” Chanyeol asked feeling a little excited of the thought of having powers. The rest of the group are now all standing. “Yes. They are destined to be yours. You were all chosen, blessed by the original guardians before you were born. We were watching over you all this time, observing you all.”, Lumos said while looking at each of them like they’re all her own children. “You’re the one I felt watching us in the cafeteria and earlier in the open field?” Junmyeon asked. “Yes, I see you grew strong enough to sense me Suho.” Lumos said as he looked at Junmyeon proudly. Junmyeon was confused again. “I’m Junmyeon, guardian Lumos.” Suho corrected the guardian bowing slightly. “I know my dear. I know.” Lumos replied smiling fondly at Junmyeon but not clarifying further.

Minseok spoke up again going back to the earlier topic, “What are we going to use the powers for? These are not just gifts, right? You expect something from us. You said you need our help. Does that mean help to fight the Red Force?”. “You are right my dear. I need your help to stop the Red Force. We need to put a stop on all the chaos they’re bringing to our realms. We can’t do this if the twelve guardians are not complete. You will be stronger together, even stronger than the original guardians. After all, you are all destined for great things. Of course, you still have to train.”, Lumos answered. “Train? Where? How are we supposed to train? We still need to go to school. What about our parents? Don’t they need to know about this?” Jongin interrupted. “It’s for the best that they are not involved in this. It’s for their own safety. It would be really dangerous if they knew. That’s why you need to train, so you can protect them as well as your other friends. As for the training, I would be asking you to train in this realm actually. You’re all safer here and I will be helping you with your training after your school activities of course. I don’t want to hinder you daily normal lives even more.” Lumos answered. The group stayed silent again, still absorbing everything they heard.

“Now you heard my side, I would like to know if you will all accept these powers and the responsibilities that comes with it my dear children?” Lumos asked the 9 boys. They all looked at each other, hesitating. Junmyeon stepped forward. “Guardian Lumos, this is a lot to take in for us. And I think we need to think this through carefully and discuss it among ourselves. Can you give us more time to process all of this?” Junmyeon asked politely. Lumos understood why they are still hesitating. This is a huge responsibility to put on teenagers but she believes in them. She knows in her heart that they will be great guardians and will make the right decision. “I can give you at most one day to think about it. I’m sorry I can’t give you more time. We really need to start your training as soon as possible. We need to prepare for what’s coming. I know it will not be easy but I’ll do my best to support you my dear children.”, she assures all of them. The group just nodded. “Thank you, Guardian Lumos” Junmyeon said.

“Uhm, how are we going to go home?” Sehun asked with a small voice. Lumos chuckled at the youngest. “Same as how you got here. Touch this orb and you will be brought back to your school. I will be waiting for the nine of you tomorrow under the same tree where I met you. I’ll be waiting.”, she said as she offers the grey orb. The nine of them gathered around the orb. “Oh! And before you go, you can’t tell other humans about this. It is best to keep this a secret. It’s for your own protection and the people around all of you. Do you understand?”, the guardian warned them. The boys nodded understanding the guardian’s warning and besides, it’s not like anyone will believe them. They hardly believe everything themselves. “Goodbye my dear children. Until we meet again.” Lumos said before the group touched the orb. Again, for a split second, they’re all already standing on their spot under the tree in their school’s open field as if they haven’t left at all.

“Ouch! What the hell?!” Jongdae screamed surprising the group. “What?! I was just checking if I am dreaming.”, Baekhyun said in defense. “You were supposed to pinch yourself, idiot!” Jongdae shouted. The rest laugh at the two, removing the tension in the air. “What are we supposed to do now?” Yixing asked everyone as they turned silent again. They all don’t know what to do. Minseok, being the oldest felt like he needs to do something somehow. “Why don’t you guys sleep over at our place tonight. Our parents won’t be home for the whole weekend so we can talk freely about this. We need to think of what’s the best thing for us to do. And it’s best if we decide together.” Minseok asked the group. They all agreed but went to their own homes first to get their stuff and ask permission from their parents. This gave them time to process everything alone as well.

Minseok and Junmyeon entered their house quietly both in their own heads thinking of what happened earlier, still finding it hard to believe all of what they saw and heard. “We should prepare before they arrive.”, Minseok told his twin breaking their silence. Junmyeon nodded. “I’ll go change first then get the pillows, blankets and futon beds”, Junmyeon said as he went upstairs. Minseok went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for them but doesn’t know what or how to cook for 9 growing boys so he decided to just order chicken for delivery instead. After ordering, he went up to their room and changed to a comfortable shirt and shorts. When he got down, the living room is already set up. Chairs were move at the corner and futon beds are laid down at the center with pillows and blankets scattered. “What’s for dinner Min-hyung?” Junmyeon asked as he see his twin entering their living room. “I just ordered chicken. I can’t cook for 9.”, he answered with a chuckle. “Did you order extra chicken for Jongin? You know he can finish a whole chicken right?” Junmyeon asked smiling remembering the last time they ate with their cousins. “Yup. I did. That boy sure loves chicken. We can also have ramyeon, we have a lot of those. I can cook it later.” Minseok added.

After a few minutes, they heard the door open and Yixing came in with food containers. “Hi guys, I brought some side dishes from home.” Yixing said walking straight to the kitchen. He’s always at the Kim’s house since they were children so he treats their house like his own home already. “Thanks, Yixing!” Minseok shouted from the living room. Yixing entered the living room after putting the side dishes in the kitchen. “Am I the first one to arrive?” he asked as he flopped down the futon. “Of course, you live just across the street, Yixing.” Junmyeon said chuckling at his best friend.

The door opened again revealing their cousins and Sehun sipping his bubble tea. “Where’s everybody?”, Jongdae shouted from the door. “Will you keep it down Jongdae? We have neighbors!” Minseok scolded the younger. “Yixing is in the living room, the rest are not here yet.” Junmyeon answered as he welcomed his cousins and Sehun. He looked at Sehun and smiled at him. Sehun smiled back, blushing again. He was excited and nervous at staying over Junmyeon’s place so he bought bubble tea before coming over to calm his nerves. “Can I have some? Dinner’s not here yet and I’m already starving.” Junmyeon asked the younger. Sehun offered his bubble tea and Junmyeon took a few sips. Sehun blushed even more as he watch Junmyeon drink from the same straw thinking it’s an indirect kiss. Junmyeon gave the bubble tea back to Sehun. “Thanks, Sehunnie! Come in, they’re in the living room.” Junmyeon said and took Sehun’s hand and pulled him in the living room.

“Are you okay Sehun? You look really flushed.” Yixing asked as they enter the room. Jongin who’s sitting on the couch already and playing on his phone looked up and see that Junmyeon is holding Sehun’s hands. He looked at his best friend’s face and laughed out loud. Junmyeon and Yixing were confused but Sehun stares daggers at Jongin to make him stop. “Are you okay Sehun? You do look flushed. Just sit down first. Delivery should be here any minute now then we can eat dinner, okay?” He pulled Sehun towards the sofa in the corner and let him sit beside Jongin. Sehun just sat and nodded in response. Jongin still chuckling beside him until Sehun nudge him with his elbows hitting Jongin’s ribs.

The doorbell rang and Junmyeon went to open the door. “We’re here!” Chanyeol said smiling widely as Junmyeon open the door. “Hello Junmyeon-hyung. Thank you for letting us stay over.” Kyungsoo said as he bowed before entering the house. “I brought some cola hyung. Where should I place this?” Baekhyun said following the other two inside the house. “You can put it in the fridge first.” Junmyeon said as he pointed at the direction of the kitchen.

After a few more minutes after, the chicken delivery arrived. They all ate in the dining room, talking and laughing, avoiding the topic they actually need to talk about, needing more time before they get serious. After they ate, Kyungsoo offered to clean up and wash the dishes. “Hyung! I’ll help you”, Jongin volunteered. “Since when did you volunteer to clean up?” his brother asked, perplexed of the younger’s actions. “Since now.” Jongin answered back then winked at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo blushed and turned to the sink to avoid the younger’s flirting. Jongin followed quickly with the dishes. The two talked while washing the dishes, Kyungsoo laughing once in a while at what Jongin’s saying.

When they are done cleaning up and preparing for bed, they all gathered up in the living room, sitting in a circle again. This time Sehun is sitting beside Junmyeon and Minseok is on the other side of his twin. On the other side of Sehun is Jongin then Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongdae and Yixing. “What now?” Baekhyun asked, not sure where to start. “I’m scared.” Sehun blurted quietly but everyone heard. Junmyeon immediately hold Sehun’s hand, “I think we all are.” Junmyeon said comforting the youngest. “I’m scared too hyung” Jongin said to Kyungsoo offering his hand. Kyungsoo just look at his hand and then at Jongin then looked away ignoring the hand. Jongin pouted and his brother rolled his eyes at him.

“I think we should accept it.” Chanyeol proclaimed. “We were chosen for a reason. I think they really believed that we can do it.”, he added. “I’m worried that one of us will get hurt badly or worse”, Yixing said looking at his friends grimly. “I agree with Yixing. I don’t want any of you getting hurt. This is a huge responsibility. We’re talking about demons and monsters here and saving the world and stuff. The original guardians died doing this. It’s not just a fight against other kids or bullies. We could all die fighting.” Minseok reasoned. Everyone thought of Minseok’s point. “But if we’re not going to do it, who will? In the end we’ll all die if no one will fight, right? Is it not better to fight than doing nothing at all?” Baekhyun countered. “Plus, we can protect our family, friends and other people. We can do it for them.” Jongdae added. “And we’ll have cool powers” Jongin said excitedly. Sehun rolled his eyes on his best friend’s comment. “We need to train seriously and give it all we’ve got IF we’re going to accept this.” Kyungsoo said. “And we have to manage and balance our daily lives on top of that.” Junmyeon added. “We’ll help each other though, right?” Yixing asked them. All of them nodded in agreement. “We’ll have each other’s back no matter what.” Minseok confirmed. “So, are we going to accept it?” Sehun asked the group. Junmyeon looked at everyone and can see determination in their eyes mixed with fear. “Yes Sehunnie, we will.” Junmyeon answered him, knowing the rest have the same answer. Sehun smiled, “Okay. Let’s do this!”. He put his one hand at the center then looked at his friends. Chanyeol smiled widely and followed Sehun’s hand at the center then Baekhyun, Jongdae, Yixing, Kyungsoo, Jongin. Junmyeon looked at his twin then they both put their hands in together. Junmyeon shouted “We are…” “ONE!” the rest continued as they raised their hands above their head then they laughed. “My god! that was so cheesy!” Baekhyun said, shuddering right after they shouted. Everyone laughed again. They agreed but it felt right at that moment. They are all still scared that’s for sure, but they found strength from each other. They will get through it as long as they have each other.

After their discussion, they decided to watch a movie to reduce the tension and pressure they’re feeling. “What movie should we watch?” Minseok asked his friends. “I want a horror movie!” Jongdae shouted. “I told you to lower your voice! It’s late already and the neighbors are probably sleeping already.” Minseok scolded him again. “That’s his normal voice Min-hyung. We’ve been asking him to lower his voice for a long time already and nothing’s changed” Jongin informed his cousin shrugging and Minseok just sighed. Sehun laughed at their exchange. Junmyeon adored Sehun laughing. He really liked seeing the youngest happy like that.

“You like him, don’t you?” Yixing asked suddenly standing beside his best friend. Junmyeon was flustered. “W-what? I don’t know what you’re talking about Yixing.” Junmyeon avoided the question but Yixing just laughed at Junmyeon. “It’s okay. I think he likes you too.” Yixing winked then joined Chanyeol who’s currently playing his guitar. Junmyeon was blushing thinking of what Yixing just said and looked at Sehun again but this time, the younger is already looking at him. They’re eyes met and they both blushed and looked away. Feeling his face burning, Junmyeon head to the bathroom to calm himself.

“I’m going to the convenience store. Do you guys want anything?” Baekhyun asked his friends. “I want some chips please.” Kyungsoo answered. “I want ice cream!” Jongdae shouted. “I want popcorn hyung!” Sehun added. “We need more drinks cola or juice will do.” Minseok added. “How am I supposed to carry all of those?” Baekhyun whined. “I’ll go with you!” Chanyeol volunteered. “Okay, let’s go!” Baekhyun said as he heads out. Chanyeol gave his guitar to Kyungsoo quickly then ran outside to follow Baekhyun. Kyungsoo then asked Yixing to teach him how to play the guitar and Jongin joined them to watch.

“Why is it so cold?” Baekhyun shivered hugging himself. Chanyeol put his arm around Baekhyun and pulled him closer but he looked the other way feeling shy of his move. Baekhyun looked down at his feet smiling, hiding his blush. Chanyeol is really sweet when there’s just the two of them. He actually like him since last year but afraid of confessing and ruining their friendship. He didn’t want things to get awkward in case he rejects him. But sometimes, Chanyeol does things like this that make him think that he feels the same way. The two of them walked quietly not talking. Chanyeol is the first to break the ice. “Do you really think we can do it?” he asked. “Hmm. Yes. I can feel it. We’ll succeed.” He answered and smiled at him to reassure him. Chanyeol smiled back and pulled him closer. They reached the convenience store and get all their friends’ requests and paid. They walked back to the Kim’s house talking and laughing at each other’s joke, enjoying each other’s company.

“I want a horror movieeee!” they heard Jongdae shouted as they enter the house. Both laughed again at Jongdae’s whining. They brought their purchase in the living room which is a mess now. Yixing is teaching Kyungsoo how to play guitar at the corner while Jongin is watching them. Junmyeon is at the other side of the room with Sehun talking quietly like they’re on their own bubble. And lastly, Jongdae arguing with Minseok over what movie they should watch at the center of the living room.

“We’re back!” Chanyeol said to get their attention. They all turned and get their food from the bag the two are carrying. “How’s your little date?” Yixing teased them as he gets his chips from the bag. Baekhyun and Chanyeol blushed and Yixing laughed at them confirming his suspicion. ‘So, there’s three future couples now’ he thought to himself.

They ended up watching a horror movie, Minseok losing to Jongdae’s whining. They are all lying down in the connected futons at the living room. Minseok is at the edge watching silently not bothered by the movie at all, beside him is Junmyeon who is currently covering his face with a blanket and refusing to watch the movie. Under the blanket, his hand is holding onto Sehun for comfort. Sehun is trying to focus on the movie but all he can think about is Junmyeon’s hand on his. He’s glad that it’sdark so no one can see him blushing again. On his other side is Jongin, already sleeping facing Kyungsoo who is focused on the movie but glances once in a while at the sleeping boy. At the right of Kyungsoo is Jongdae who is also focused on the movie but is weirded out because Yixing is laughing at the horror movie. He seems to find the movie funny. On Yixing’s right side is Baekhyun watching with his hands covering his face but is still peeking in between his fingers and finally Chanyeol at the edge sitting up and still eating chips, popcorn and ice cream, not paying attention to the movie at all.

After the movie ended, the group slept one by one until they started to snore. Minseok is still wide awake though. Junmyeon took the blanket off his face and looked at Sehun at his side sleeping soundly still holding his hands. “He seems to like you, Myeonie.” Minseok suddenly said staring at their ceiling. “I don’t know, he might just see me as an older brother. But I think I like him though.” He answered smiling while watching the younger sleep. “You’re worried for tomorrow.” Junmyeon then said to his twin as he looked at him. “Aren’t you? I’m afraid that someone will really get hurt. I don’t want to lose all of you like what happened to Lumos.” Minseok voiced out his concern. “I’m worried to. A lot actually, but I can’t show them my fear. We’re the oldest in the group and they look up to us. We need to be strong for them.” Junmyeon explained. “You’re really a grown up now Myeonie. That’s a mature thing for you to say.” Minseok smiled proudly at his twin. “You do know we’re the same age right?” Junmyeon rebutted. “I’m still older by minutes though.” Minseok joked. They both chuckled quietly. “Let’s go to sleep hyung”. Junmyeon said sleepily. The twins closed their eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, Minseok was the first to wake up. He went to the kitchen and made some coffee and breakfast for himself and his friends. Kyungsoo woke up next and went to the kitchen too. “Good morning hyung. How can I help?” Kyungsoo said as he enters the kitchen. “Good morning Soo. Can you help me cook the eggs?” Minseok asked the younger. Kyungsoo nodded and proceed in frying the eggs. With extra hands, they were able to prepare the breakfast just in time as the rest wakes up. The group ate their breakfast quietly. Jongin focusing on left over chicken from their dinner.

“We should get ready to go back to Lumos.” Junmyeon said. “We have two bathrooms, one upstairs and one at the back of the kitchen. Feel free to use them. I’ll go first in the bathroom upstairs.” Junmyeon instructed. The group nodded. “I’ll get ready at my house.” Yixing said and went back to his house across to prepare. Chanyeol went to the bathroom at the back of the kitchen first and will be followed by Baekhyun then Jongdae and lastly Kyungsoo. Minseok brought Jongin and Sehun upstairs so they can wait in their room for Junmyeon. “Sehun, I think Junmyeon is done already. You can go next. The bathroom is down the hall.” Minseok pointed to Sehun. Sehun brought his clothes and walk to the bathroom. He suddenly stopped walking when he saw Junmyeon coming out of the bathroom shirtless. Junmyeon noticed Sehun staring at him. “Sorry, I brought the wrong shirt. This is Min-hyung’s” he explained showing the shirt in his hands. Sehun just nodded, afraid of talking, trying hard not to stare but failing. When he finally snapped at his trance, he run to the bathroom and closed the door immediately. Junmyeon chuckled at the cute reaction of the younger. Good thing he started working out.

After they are all freshly showered and ready. They finally head out to go back to the school’s open field. All feeling nervous and excited at the same time. In no time, they reached their spot under the huge tree. “Guardian Lumos?” Jongdae shouted looking for the guardian. They wait for a while then suddenly the orb appeared again. Knowing what to do, the group touched the orb again. With just a blink, they’re back at Elyxion in the same dome room from yesterday.

“Welcome back my dear children. I assume you have an answer for me now?” Lumos said as she floats at the center of the dome again. Junmyeon stepped forward with his twin beside him. “Yes. We accept being the next guardians, guardian Lumos.” Junmyeon said confidently and the rest nodded looking determined. The guardian smiled. “I’m glad and thank you for accepting. Now, it’s time for you to claim your powers.” The group seemed excited at the mention of their powers. The guardian waved her hands again and the 9 orbs float in front of her. “Minseok and Junmyeon, please come closer.” Lumos instructed the twins. The twins looked at each other then stepped closer to Lumos. “Your powers are related. Strong on their own but even stronger together.” She started then the light blue and dark blue orbs float in front of the twins. “Minseok, your power is frost” the light blue orb float closer to Minseok. “Junmyeon, yours is water” the dark blue orb float next to Junmyeon. “Go on my dear, touch the orbs in front of you.” Lumos encouraged the twins. Minseok touched the light blue orb first. As he touched the orb, he felt the power surge through him. The others gasp as Minseok glowed the same color of his orb. Following his twin, Junmyeon grab the dark blue orb and felt the same surge of power in his body. He glowed the same color as his orb as well. “Look! What’s that above your heads” Baekhyun said. When the two looked up they saw symbols above their head. The symbol above Minseok looks like a snowflake while Junmyeon’s symbol is like a water droplet. They were all amazed of what they witnessed. Lumos smiled at them proudly. “Those are the symbols of your powers.” The two bowed down to the guardian and walked back to their original place.

“Yixing, my dear. Please come forward.” Lumos said. Yixing walked forward, anxious. “Yixing, your power is one of the most essential in your group. Your power is healing.”, the guardian said as the light green orb float towards Yixing. He touched the orb infront of him and felt the power in his body, calming him as he glows the same color of the orb. “Woah!” Yixing exclaimed as a unicorn-like symbol appears above him. He smiled and bowed at the guardian in front of and went beside Minseok and Junmyeon smiling widely at them.

The rest of the group are waiting excitedly then Lumos spoke again, “Chanyeol and Jongdae, please come forward.” The two eagerly came forward both excited and smiling ear to ear. “Your powers are one of the most dangerous. It will be hard to control as it relies on your emotions and passion as well.” Lumos warned them as the red orb float in front of Chanyeol and the yellow orb in front of Jongdae. “Chanyeol your power is fire.” Chanyeol touched the orb and the power transferred to his body then he glowed red. In fact, he glowed more than the previous guardians. “Chanyeol please control your emotions, we don’t want to start a fire in here, do we?” Lumos said to Chanyeol as the boy smiled shyly. As he calmed down, the red glow fainted and his phoenix-like symbol now visible above his head. “Jongdae, your power is lightning.”, Jongdae touched the orb and yelled “Whooo!” as he glowed bright yellow and a lightning symbol appeared above in his head. The two boys smile grew even wider feeling the power within them but concentrated to remain calm. Kyungsoo shook his head watching his two friends thinking they would cause trouble in the future.

The two boys high-fived before going in line next to Yixing. “Kyungsoo, my dear, please come forward.” Lumos said. Kyungsoo walked forward immediately hiding his excitement. “Kyungsoo, your power is the most connected in our world, Earth.”. The violet orb floated in front of Kyungsoo. He touched it like the rest, he was surrounded by the color of his orb as the power push through his body. A wolf-like symbol was shown above his head. “Thank you, guardian Lumos.” Kyungsoo said as he bowed down respectfully to the guardian.

“Jongin and Sehun, my dears, please come forward.” The two youngest came forward smiling at each other. As they stepped forward, the dark green orb was placed in front of Sehun and the grey orb float in front of Jongin. “Your powers are something that cannot be seen by the naked eyes.” Lumos started and the two looked at each other. “Sehun, your power is the wind and Jongin, yours is teleportation another essential power to your group.” Lumos continued. “Cool! I can go anywhere?”, Jongin asked immediately, thinking of different places he would like to go to. “Yes, my dear, but you still have to train to master it.” Lumos confirmed. Jongin nodded excitedly and Sehun rolled his eyes at his best friend. They touched their respective orbs and glowed with the same colors. A wing-like symbol floats above Sehun and a lock-like symbol floats above Jongin. The two youngest went in line as well beside Kyungsoo.

“And finally, my dear Baekhyun, come here.”, the guardian motioned to Baekhyun. The remaining boy came forward. “Your power my dear will be coming from me.”, Lumos hold her hand out with the white orb floating above it. “The power of light. The most important power in fighting the Red Force. Remember you children will be fighting against the darkest creatures. This power is essential in your fight.” The white orb float forward to Baekhyun. “But if I take this power, what will happen to you?” Baekhyun asked, hesitating to accept the power in front of him. The last guardian smiled sweetly with tears in her eyes. “I will still live my dear. Don’t worry. I have enough power in my body to continue living and help you.”, she assured them. “Besides, my time is up. It’s your turn now. Your friends will need you,”, she said directly to Baekhyun. After hearing this, Baekhyun took the orb and glowed white same as the last guardian, feeling the warmth spread in his body and a star-like symbol floated above his head.” He smiled and bowed at the last guardian. “Thank you, Lumos” he said before going in line as well, standing next to Chanyeol.

“Now that you all have your powers. I want to introduce you the other three new guardians.”

### To be continued...


	3. 3.6.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Get crushed three times,even if you have to cry six times.  
> If you overcome another five times,you'll start to see the end.  
> If you rush ahead,you'll only miss the important things.  
> Give yourself a little bit more time,so that you can catch your breath."

# 3.6.5

“Now that you all have your powers. I want to introduce you to the other three new guardians.”

As Lumos wave her hand, a wall section at her back opens and three boys emerged. The three boys are also teenagers just like the rest of them but they look more confident, more mature and experienced compared to the other nine. The nine boys looked at them curiously and intrigued, wondering who are they, where did they come from and why did they have their powers first. “My dears, I would like you all to meet Yifan, Luhan and Zitao.” Lumos introduced the three new guardians and they bowed at the nine boys in front of them. The nine boys bowed back and smiled at them.

Yifan is the tallest of the three. He is a handsome, mysterious, cool-looking guy. Luhan is the opposite of Yifan. He has a beautiful and a little bit feminine face with sparkly doe eyes. He looks really gentle and kind. And lastly, Zitao or just Tao, another tall young man with fierce eyes. He looks like someone you shouldn’t mess with but he is actually a baby.

“Hi guys! I’m Baekhyun. And these are my friends – Minseok-hyung, Junmyeon-hyung, they’re twins by the way. Then this is Yixing, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Jongin, they’re brothers but not twins and lastly, our youngest, Sehun” Baekhyun introduced himself and his friend enthusiastically, excited to make new friends. The others waved awkwardly as they are being introduced by Baekhyun.

“Okay then, now that you are all acquainted, why don’t we all go out to the garden and share a meal and get to know each other more?” Lumos offered the twelve boys. “Is there fried chicken?” Jongin asked at the mention of meal. Jongdae hit the back of his brother’s head playfully. “We just had chicken for dinner and you even ate them for breakfast!” Jongdae said to his brother. The others laugh at them, creating a lighter atmosphere among the group. Lumos led the way to the garden. As they stepped out of the room, they are immediately amazed by what they saw. They were welcomed by warm sunlight, clear blue sky, clean and fresh air, soft grassy ground surrounded by huge majestic trees and bushes with different kinds of flowers they didn’t even know that exist. They can here birds chirping nearby. They can see colorful butterflies in different sizes flying around the garden and a few bunnies, squirrels and other small animals lurking behind the trees, looking at the new comers. It looked like something that came out of a fairytale book. The nine boys who have seen it for the first time are all speechless, mouth open, looking around trying to absorb everything they can. Chanyeol, wanting to pet the cute animals he saw but restrained himself because he didn’t want to scare them away. He promised himself that he’ll befriend them later on. Lumos looked at the boys happily, glad that she can share this place to them as well.

Lumos headed in the long table at the patio just right outside the room they came from. “Come on boys, you can explore later. Let’s eat first before the food gets cold.” The boys followed the guardian to the long table, their mouths watering at the sight of home cooked meals. They didn’t realize they were hungry again until they saw the food spread out the table. They took one seat each, Lumos at the head of the table. At her left sits Minseok, Junmyeon, Sehun, Yixing, Jongdae then Jongin. At her right sits Yifan, Luhan, Tao, Baekhyun, Chanyeol then Kyungsoo. In front of them are different Korean and Chinese food they all loved. “Go ahead boys, eat.” Lumos said. They immediately started eating, passing the dishes around so everyone can have a taste of all the food available.

As they eat, Junmyeon speak up, curious to know on what will happen next, “Excuse me guardian Lumos but I would just like to ask what will be your plan for us? You said that we need to start our training as soon as possible, right?”. The others looked up as they heard Junmyeon’s question, still munching their food but now paying attention to Lumos. “Yes, Suho. You’re right.”, Lumos confirmed. At the mention of ‘Suho’, the group was confused again. “Who is Suho?”, Sehun paused eating and asked the guardian voicing out their confusion. Lumos smiled and explained, “Well, as you boys know, ‘Suho’ means guardian in Korean. You are all now guardians but there is someone from your group that needs to lead you and that will be Junmyeon.”. “M-me? W-why me?” Junmyeon asked surprised and nervous. “As I told you before, we’ve been watching you, me and the past guardians. We all saw the leadership in you, my dear. We believed that you can lead and guide your friends. That’s why I’m calling you ‘Suho’, the guardian of the guardians.” Lumos explained. “I think she’s right Junmyeon. Out of all of us, I don’t think there’s anyone better fit as our leader than you.”, his twin said smiling encouragingly at him.

“Well… B-but we don’t actually know Yifan, Luhan and Tao yet. What if they can be a better leader than me. And besides they have their powers first. They’re more experienced in all of these.” Junmyeon countered, still unsure of the role he’s being given to. “Believe me, none of us three are fit to be a leader.”, Yifan said chuckling. “Especially Tao.”, Luhan added laughing after. “Heyyy!”, Tao whined at the two older. The others laugh at them. “See Myeonie? We all agree with guardian Lumos. And don’t worry, we’ll have each other’s back remember?”, Yixing said smiling sweetly at Junmyeon. Sehun agreed with Yixing although disappointed that he didn’t said it first. So instead, he held Junmyeon’s hand under the table to reassure and show a sign of support to him. Junmyeon thanked Yixing smiling then turned to Sehun and smiled at him as well, Sehun’s favorite smile. “If you’re all fine with it then okay.” Junmyeon agreed finally. “Yes! We all agree, okay? So, don’t think about it too much. It’s not like we’ll let you do all the work.” Baekhyun said playfully. The others chuckled at this.

“Sooo, Yifan, Luhan and Tao. Where do you guys live? We haven’t seen you around before. I don’t think you go to the same school as us.” Baekhyun asked the three, wanting to know them better. “We’re actually from China but we live here in Elyxion now.” Luhan answered. “We’re orphans and guardian Lumos found us when we were kids. I’m 7 years old at that time, Yifan-ge and Lu-ge was 9.”, Tao continued. “She then adopted us and we lived and trained here ever since.” Yifan added casually. The others are listening intently at their story. “Yixing is from China as well!”, Minseok informed them. “Yup. But I moved here when I was 5 years old.”, Yixing added.

“You guys must be really strong already. What are your powers by the way? Are they cool? Have you used them already? Can you show us?”, Jongdae bombarded them with questions, showing sparks in his eyes. “Jongdae, calm down.”, Minseok told the younger but they all waited for the three to answer. Luhan chuckled at him but then he lifted his hands and all the tablewares in front of them floated above their heads. “Woah! That’s so cool!” Jongdae shouted standing at awe. The rest are wearing the same expressions looking at their floating plates. “Hyuuung! My food. I’m still eating.” Jongin whined when his eating was interrupted. “Sorry, Jongin. Here you go.” Luhan apologized and slowly placed the plates down again then open his palms and showed his orb. “My power is Telekinesis.” He said after hiding his orb again.

“Mine is Time Control but I’m still not that good at it. But I guess I can show a bit.” Tao said then he got an apple from the table and bit it. He placed it in the table and hover his hands over the apple and made a wiping motion to the left and the apple was whole again, like it was just freshly picked. “That’s amazing Tao!” Junmyeon exclaimed at him. Tao smiled shyly at him and looked at his feet. “Thank you.”, he said quietly. Sehun frowned, wishing he can do something to impress Junmyeon as well. “I can also speed up or slow down movements if I concentrate enough but I’m still working on it.”, he added. “That’s actually going to be really helpful in the future.” Yifan said.

“How about you Yifan-hyung? What’s your power?”, Kyungsoo asked the older. “I can fly.”, Yifan answered smiling slightly. “Wow, really?! I want to fly too!”, Chanyeol said. “Can you show us hyung?” he pleaded. “Alright.” Yifan said smiling at Chanyeol then he stood up and walked away a little then bend his knees and shoot straight up the sky like a rocket. “Wooooahhh!” Jongdae shouted again below. All of them are looking up at Yifan. “That’s so cool!”, Chanyeol said admiring the flying boy. Yifan went back down again but stumbled when his feet hit the ground, almost falling down, face first but he caught himself luckily. “Whuahahahahaha!” Tao laughed at him. “You looked cool for a moment there Yifan-ge! Hahahahahaha!” he continued laughing at the older. Yifan rubbed the back of his neck as he stood straight. “Sorry. Still working on my landing.”, Yifan mumbled, his face turning bright red. The others chuckled quietly trying not to embarrass the older any further but Tao who doesn’t seem to have clue when to stop, is still laughing hard at the ground. Yifan noticed and grabbed the younger by the back of his neck. “I’m sorry ge! I’ll shut up now” Tao said, forcing himself to stop laughing.

Lumos watched the group silently and looking at them fondly, happy that they’re getting along just fine. “Okay boys, I think that’s enough for the show and tell for now. We need to discuss your training.”. The 12 boys took their sit again and are now paying full attention to the guardian. “Nine of you just got your powers today and none of you knows how to use them yet, so for today, we’ll focus on harnessing your powers and see how much grasp and control you have over them. Then we can decide the next step for your training from there.” Lumos said as he looks at the new guardians. “Of course, Yifan, Luhan, Tao and myself will be helping you. Once you get used to your powers, we’ll have separate trainings for you boys depending on the nature of your powers.”, the guardians continued and the boys nodded. “We’ll get to that in the following days but for now let’s head to the training room, shall we?” Lumos said as she motioned them to follow her. Yifan, Luhan and Tao followed first. The remaining boys looked at each other first then followed them.

The group walk back to the room they came from and walked straight to the open wall earlier. They were led to a long hallway with multiple doors left and right, the boys wondering how big is that place. They continued walking straight until they reach a big double door at the end of the hallway. The original guardian opened the doors wide and revealed a huge, empty arena with a platform at the center. The new guardians stepped in and looked around, again, amazed. Lumos walked up to the platform followed by Yifan, Luhan and Tao. The four then faced the new guardians when they reached the center of the platform. “This will be our training room. As you can see, this place can accommodate all of you. There will also be equipment available once we properly start your trainings.” Lumos said as she gestured around.

“Now, let’s begin, shall we?” the guardian said and the nine walked up to the platform but staying just near the edge. “What should we do?”, Kyungsoo inquired with a determined look. “Okay, let’s start with you then my dear, come forward.” Lumos said as she motioned for Kyungsoo to come forward. Kyungsoo walked closer and the rest backed out a little bit. “First, I want you to close your eyes. Feel your power coursing through your body. Remember how you felt when you touched your orb earlier.”, the guardian instructed. Kyungsoo followed and closed his eyes, concentrating on feeling his powers and then he felt it, the force inside him. The ground shook for a bit, startling the new guardians, even the three trained guardians. Kyungsoo opened his eyes, shocked of what he felt. “Well done Kyungsoo! You’ve felt it right?” Lumos said proudly looking at the young guardian. “Yes! Th-that felt amazing.” Kyungsoo replied smiling, excited. “You can harness the earth and everything that’s connected to it. The plants, soil, rocks. Now I want you to touch the ground and concentrate to feel the earth beneath you and call it. Think of what you want it to do.” Lumos continued to instruct. Kyungsoo knelt on one knee and touched the ground, like what he did earlier, he closed his eyes and felt his powers flow through his body. He asked the ground to open up. For a moment, nothing happened. The others are waiting for something to happen then suddenly the ground shooked again, and from the ground touched by Kyungsoo, cracks appeared and slowly it spread and the ground opened deep like it’s being split into two. The other guardians stared wide eyes and huddled closer to each other, Sehun hold onto Junmyeon as he got scared. But then, after a few seconds, the ground closed again like nothing happened. Kyungsoo opened his eyes and he is now covered with sweat and feel like he’s drained and about to collapse. Suddenly, Jongin appeared right at his side and caught him before he fell.

“Kyungsoo-hyung, are you okay?” Jongin said to him not realizing what he had done. “Jongin-ah, h-how did you get here?”, Kyungsoo asked him, surprised of the younger’s sudden presence. He was sure that the others are a few feet away from him. Then Jongin realized what happened. He was watching Kyungsoo intently since he was asked to come at the center of the platform. He noticed that Kyungsoo was not feeling well when the ground below opened and wanted to be his side immediately to support him, not thinking of anything else. The rest were also shocked and amazed at the same time as they saw Jongin magically disappeard from their side and re- appeared beside Kyungsoo with just a blink of an eye. Jongin successfully used his powers without him realizing. Lumos is delighted by the quick progress of the young guardians. “Well done Kyungsoo and well done Jongin! Looks like you don’t need my help with your power Jongin. I think you have it figured out.” Lumos said, very pleased. The other guardians all clapped at both of them, amazed and proud of them at the same time. “Are you okay Kyungsoo-hyung?” Jongin asked again. The older nodded and smiled. “I felt dizzy for a moment there but I think I’m fine.” Kyungsoo replied. The two walked back to the group.

“You should rest for a while my dear. That was a great show of power and your body is not yet used to it so Jongin please stay with Kyungsoo for now.” Lumos said to the two boys. “Who would like to go next?” Lumos asked the rest of the group. “Jongdae! Jongdae! Jongdae!” Jongdae yelled his name bouncing in his place while raising his hand excitedly up in the air as high as he can. But then all the lights flickered and one of the lights near them exploded. They all run away from the small explosion. Jongdae stared at the light as he felt the power surge through his body. Lumos was not alarmed but smiled instead. “Jongdae, I think you don’t need my help to harness your power as well. But please try to calm down and be careful of your emotions. I mentioned earlier that the nature of your power relies on your emotions and that includes excitement.” Lumos explained calmly. “Oops! I’m sorry. I’ll calm down now. But what else can I do besides make light bulbs explode?” Jongdae asked while trying to calm down. “You can control anything with currents or anything with electricity and once you’ve trained, you can even conjure the lightning.”. Jongdae’s eyes widened, still trying to calm down. “Woah, woah woah! Hold up. Are we sure it’s wise to entrust my brother with this power? What if he suddenly electrocutes me while sleeping?” Jongin asked full of concern knowing how his brother is. Lumos chuckled at this. “I don’t think he’ll do that my dear. His powers may rely on his emotions but his power will also take his subconscious into consideration, meaning if he doesn’t want to harm you, his power will understand that. And I don’t think your brother would like to harm you Jongin” Lumos explained further. “Well…” Jongdae said teasingly. Jongin’s eyes widen and he points at his brother looking at Lumos panicking. “I’m just kidding!” Jongdae quickly said. They all laughed at the brothers, Minseok shaking his head, grabbed Jongdae by the back of his neck. “Get back here now.”, he said.

“Can I go next, please?”, Sehun asked shyly. “Of course, my dear. Come closer.” Lumos agreed. Sehun walked closer to the guardian. “Now my dear, your power will be easier to harness since it surrounds you. You can control the wind and the air around and you can will it to your bidding. Close your eyes, and feel the air around you, be one with it and try to ask it to do what you want.” Lumos instructed. Sehun do as she says. He closed his eyes and feel the air surrounding him. He tried to control its direction and speed. Slowly he can feel the wind going stronger, circling around him like it’s embracing him then Junmyeon flashed in his mind. Suddenly he felt the wind left him then after a while, he heard Junmyeon shrieked. The wind is pushing him to Sehun’s side. When Sehun opened his eyes, Junmyeon is now standing in front of him, looking at him with adoration. “Sehunnie…”, Junmyeon said quietly. Sehun smiled widely and Junmyeon smiled back. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop flirting, we’re in the middle of training.”, Chanyeol shouted at them teasing. The two immediately blushed and the rest teased them as well. Sehun looked at Lumos who is smiling at them, sensing what’s going on with the two of them. “Looks like Sehun is inspired. Great control of your power, my dear.” Lumos said with a hint of teasing as well. The younger blushed even more then bowed at the guardian.

“Junmyeon, since you’re here, you can go next. And Minseok, please come forward as well. I think it’s best if you can do this together.” Lumos said and Minseok quickly went to his twin’s side and bowed at the guardian in front of them. The guardian nodded at Yifan. Yifan understood and flew at the back corner of the room and flip a switch. Suddenly water started filling the area around the platform. Junmyeon immediately feel the pull of his power. He looked at Lumos. “You felt the pull of your power already?” Lumos asked Junmyeon. Junmyeon just nodded. “You’re already stronger than I thought. Can you try channeling the water?” Lumos asked. “I-I’ll try.” Junmyeon replied. The moment he closed his eyes, the water below them shoot upward surprising the others and almost hitting Yifan as he was flying back to the platform. But then it slowly froze creating a wall of ice surrounding the platform. Minseok holding his hands up since he felt the pull of his power as well when Junmyeon controlled the water, like they’re connected. “Wooaah! That was cooool! Literally!”, Jongdae said in the background touching the wall of ice behind him. The twins were able to control their powers perfectly at first try. Lumos and the other guardians are all very impressed. “I’m really impressed. You exceeded my expectations. Both of you.” Lumos said very pleased at the two guardians in front of her. The twin looked at each other proudly then hugged. They went back happily to their friends after, their friends clapping at their backs for doing great. Junmyeon went to Sehun’s side immediately smiling brightly at him. The younger’s heart flutter again at seeing his favorite smile.

“Now, Chanyeol? I think it’s your turn now.” Lumos said as he turned to him. The tall guardian smiled widely and eyes sparkled with excitement. As he walks, the ice near him melted. Lumos noticed, “Chanyeol, calm down, okay?” she warned. Chanyeol pause and closed his eyes then calmed down then faced the guardian. “Now Chanyeol, I would like to remind you, your power is extremely dangerous, like Jongdae’s.”, Lumos warned him. “Now hold out your hand and open your palms. Close your eyes and feel the power in your body and try to conjure a flame in your palms.” Lumos instructed. Chanyeol did as she says. He concentrated really hard, not wanting to cause harm to his friends. A few seconds later, a small flame appeared in his palms. He opened his eyes, still calm, then he concentrated, sweat running down his face and try to make the flame bigger. It grew to the size of a volleyball then shrunk down to a size of a baseball. Then it was gone. He looked up at Lumos, and the guardian is smiling at him, pleased of the results. “Well done Chanyeol. Well done!” Lumos praised him. “Yes!”, he shouted excitedly as he raised his fist in the air and it caught fire but didn’t hurt him. He panicked and the flame grew. “Chanyeol, calm down.” Lumos said trying to calm him down, looking at him worried it will get worse. But the boy didn’t listen and the flame reached his arms already. “Chanyeol!”, Baekhyun cried out thinking Chanyeol is hurt and then, he was suddenly hosed down with ice-cold water. The flame is gone already, leaving a very wet and cold Chanyeol. The other guardians looked at Junmyeon. Junmyeon has his hands pointing at Chanyeol. “Sorry, I panicked. I was just aiming at your arms.” Junmyeon said as he looks apologetically. “Thank you Suho. I was really scared. Good thing Minseok-hyung didn’t panic or I’ll be frozen by now.”, Chanyeol thanked Junmyeon, calling him Suho naturally. The others run to him to check if he was okay. Surprisingly, he was not burned. The flames didn’t affect him at all except for his clothes. “Looks like I’m fire-proof as well.” Chanyeol said smugly. “What were you doing?! Lumos said to calm down you idiot!”, Baekhyun scolded him with tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just panicked! I’m fine now, see?” Chanyeol said as he showed his arms reassuring his friends. Baekhyun calmed down and wiped his tears quickly before the others even notice. 

“Luhan, can you get some towels for Chanyeol?” Lumos asked Luhan. Luhan closed his eyes and concentrated. After a few minutes, towels appeared in the doorway, floating towards Chanyeol. The tall guardian took the towel then looked at Luhan smiling widely, “Wow! Thanks, Luhan-hyung! That’s amazing!” Chanyeol said gratefully. Baekhyun helped Chanyeol to dry up and covered him with multiple towels. At the back, Sehun thought of an idea and closed his eyes, concentrating. “Woah! Woah! Woah!”, Chanyeol screamed as warm wind circled him like a mini tornado then looked at Sehun who has his eyes still closed. The others looked at him as well. Junmyeon realized what is the youngest trying to do and smiled at him sweetly. “He’s trying to blow dry you.” Junmyeon explained chuckling. Sehun opened his eyes and saw that Chanyeol is now fully dry but his hair is a mess, sticking out in different direction. “Hahahahahahaha! Sorry Hyung!” Sehun laughed and apologized. The rest laughed at Chanyeol’s hair situation as the tall boy tried his best to fix his hair. “If I need a bath, I’ll call you too.”, Chanyeol said jokingly. And the rest laughed again.

“Now that’s sorted out, Baekhyun? Do you like to give it a try?” Lumos asked. “Yup! Finally, it’s my turn!”, Baekhyun said enthusiastically. The rest of the group went back by the edge again. “What can I do by the way? Just produce light?” Baekhyun asked. “That’s one of the things you can do. But your power is not limited to that. Light can create illusions you see. You can manipulate the light to make it into something you want the others to see.” Lumos explained. “You mean like the first time we met? Like the screen with demons?”, Baekhyun asked. “Exactly. That’s one way to manipulate the light. But you can make it as close to reality as possible. This is not easy though and you need to train and practice hard to achieve that. For now, let’s try something simple first, shall we?” Lumos added. Baekhyun nodded and waited for the guardian’s instruction. “Okay, same like Chanyeol, I want you to try conjuring a ball of light in your palms. You can control the size, color and brightness as you please.” Lumos instructed. Baekhyun closed his eyes and open his palms. A small ball of light appeared, white at first then turned to blue then turned to pink. He opened his eyes and was pleased at what he conjured easily. Lumos was satisfied. She ruffles his hair as she remembered the first time she had done this trick as well. “Well done my dear!” Lumos said smiling at him. Baekhyun went back to his friends skipping and smiling.

“Yixing, my dear, come here.” Lumos said to the last guardian. Yixing came forward and faced Lumos. “My dear Yixing, I think you power will be the most essential. Your power can heal your fellow guardians or any living thing. Since we don’t have any injuries at the moment, let’s start with this.” Lumos motioned Tao to come forward. Tao stepped forward holding a potted plant. She then nodded at Tao letting him do his thing. Tao made a wiping motion with his other hand and the plant wilted. “Can you try reviving this plant?”, Lumos asked Yixing. The other guardians came forward to watch, not wanting to miss the miracle Yixing was about to do. Yixing closed his eyes as he hovered his hands on the potted plant. He imagined how the plant used to be, healthy and alive. His hands glowed immediately and the plant slowly straightened and recovered its color. In a few seconds, it’s back at its original state but a few seconds more, a flower began to bloom, amazing the guardians watching. When Yixing opened his eyes, he saw the flower and felt warmth in his heart. He looked at Lumos smiling, proud at what he has done. “Great job my dear. Great job!” Lumos exclaimed.

Lumos praised all of them for doing well at their first try on using their powers. She let them practice a few more hours on their own with Yifan, Luhan and Tao going to one guardian to another to help them. They were all having fun and the guardian’s connection grew stronger in just a few hours. After seeing them getting tired, she then led them back to the dome room. It was getting late already and the young guardians need to go back to their own realm. “Thank you, guardian Lumos. We’ll return tomorrow to continue our training.”, Junmyeon said as they all started to say goodbye. “No, my dear. You don’t have to thank me. It should be me thanking all of you for accepting this responsibility. I know it’s not easy and it will only get harder from now on so I’m really grateful for all of you. Thank you, my children.”, Lumos said and bowed at them. The young guardians bowed back. “Now, you should get home and rest. I’ll see you boys, tomorrow.”.

“Uhm. How are we going to get home this time?”, Sehun asked. The grey orb is now with Jongin so they’re not sure how will they get home. “I made a portal before giving the orb to Jongin. If you look at the wall at you right, you’ll see the symbol of the guardians, you just have to touch it and you will be brought back to your school. Same thing if you’re going back in here. You’ll find the same symbol in the huge tree in the open field. Only you guardians will be able to see the symbol.”. They looked at their right and saw a hexagon shaped symbol with lines inside forming a combined EXO letters. “Goodbye my young guardians. Be safe.” Lumos said. “Bye guys! See you tomorrow!” Luhan said to his new friends. The others said their goodbyes as well and one by one they touched the EXO symbol and re-appeared under the huge tree in their school’s open field.

“Ouch! Baekhyun!”, Jongdae yelled again. “Just checking if it’s a dream again.”, Baekhyun said. “Are you going to do that everytime? Please do it to somebody else or would you like to get electrocuted next time?”, Jongdae warned. Baekhyun laughed then looked at Kyungsoo like he’s the next target. “I’d like to see you try Baekhyun. You might find yourself burried undergorund.”, Kyungsoo threatened. Minseok then grabbed the back of Baekhyun’s neck to stop him from causing trouble. “Don’t worry, I can heal you after, Baekhyun. I can practice my powers with you.”, Yixing said teasing while Minseok is holding Baekhyun. They all laughed weakly as they can feel the exhaustion is catching up with them already.

“We should go home and rest now. We’ll have a long day tomorrow.”, Junmyeon said. “Can we eat tteokbokki first? And bubble tea!”, Sehun suggested, not wanting to go home just yet and want to spend more time with his hyungs even thoughhe’s tired. “Sure, Sehunnie. Let’s go!”, Junmyeon agreed, unable to refuse the younger. The rest agreed, feeling the same. The group went to their favorite shop to eat their hearts out. “Next time let’s bring Yifan-hyung, Luhan-hyung and Tao in here.”, Kyungsoo suggested while they’re eating. “Yup! I want to get to know them more. They’re really nice and fun to be with.”, Baekhyun agreed. “Do you guys think they can go to our school as well?”, Chanyeol asked the group. “Maybe. I don’t know but we can ask guardian Lumos. That’s actually a good idea.”, Minseok replied. After finishing their food, they all went home and turned in for the night. They want to be at their best condition for tomorrow’s training.

Somewhere deep in Exo’luxion, the Red Force starts to stir again. Not fully awake yet but slowly gaining consciousness. A few more days or weeks, they’ll rise again. Will the new guardians have enough time to train and face them?

### To be continued...


	4. Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every time I fail, every time I fall  
> Give me strength  
> SoI can become stronger  
> Every time I doubt, every time I lose  
> You made me grow this much  
> Feeling stronger (Stronger)  
> Feeling stronger (Stronger)  
> The long darkness is going away  
> Like sunlight, stronger, me and you"

# Stronger

The new guardians had an early start on Sunday morning. They had a good night sleep but they are all excited to go back to Elyxion for their training. Now that they had a taste of using their powers, they can’t get enough of it. They tried to use it immediately after waking up.

Junmyeon woke up first, which is unusual for him especially during weekends. Minseok was always the first one to wake up and get ready, but not today. He stood up and head towards the bathroom, wanting to try something. He filled their tub with water, removed his clothes and dip in the tub. He held his pointer finger above the water, just enough to touch it and slowly raise it. A small drop of water floats, following his finger. It stayed floated even after he removed his finger. Satisfied, he raised more droplets of water, all floating around him. Then he got creative. He tried creating swirls and spirals of water and let them float as well. After a few minutes, their bathroom is filled with floating water in different forms. He stared at them for a while, smiling at himself, appreciating the simple beauty of his power. Then suddenly, the floating water froze, creating icicles on air.

“Myeonie? Are you done playing with water? I need to get ready too.”, his twin said behind the door. “If you unfreeze them, I can finish up now.”, Junmyeon replied to his twin. Minseok chuckled and unfreeze the water. Junmyeon then gathered all the droplets, now ice-cold, back in the tub then got up and dressed for the day. “About time. Looks like you’re going to be taking more time in the bathroom from now on.”, Minseok said as Junmyeon exited their bathroom fully dressed and ready. “Maybe.”, Junmyeon said and winked at his brother. “I’ll wait for you downstairs, okay?”. “Sure, can you make some coffee while waiting? I’ll be quick.” Minseok requested. “Sure thing!” Junmyeon replied as he goes down to the kitchen.

After making coffee, he went to the living room and as he sits down on their couch, he received a text message. He looked at the phone and smiled seeing the sender of the text:

 **From: My Sehunnie**  
_Good morning, hyung! :)  
Did you sleep well? _

**To: My Sehunnie**  
_Good morning, Sehunnie! :)  
I slept well and I woke up early today.  
I’m really excited for the training. _

**From: My Sehunnie**  
_Me too! I made a mess of my room when I tried using my powers just now.  
Haha! My homework for next week is ruined though :(  
_

**To: My Sehunnie**  
_Hahaha! I can help you with your homework if you like?_

**From: My Sehunnie**  
_Really? Sure hyung. I would reall like that!  
Thanks, hyung! You’re the best!  
See you later :) _

**To: My Sehunnie**  
_No problem Sehunnie.  
See you! :) _

At the Jong-brother’s home, Jongin is is about to finish getting ready when the lights flickered. “Hyuuuuung! Stop it already! It’s not funny!”, Jongin yelled at his brother. He’s been doing tricks like this ever since they went home last night. When the older didn’t stop, Jongin thought of something. He closed his eyes and concentrate, thinking of his brother’s room. Suddenly, Jongin appeared in front of Jongdae earning a shriek from the older as he fell down on his butt. “Yaaah! Jongin-ah! I almost got a heart attack!”, Jongdae whined while standing up. “HAHAHAHA! You should’ve seen your face! I told you to stop with your tricks, you wouldn’t listen.”, Jongin rebutted while laughing hard. “This is fun!”, he said, stuck his tongue out and disappeared.

Jongin reappeared at their front door surprising his friends who are about to knock on their door. “Wah! Jongin-ah! Don’t do that! I almost got a heart attack!”, Minseok said to the younger while holding his chest. “I’m sorry Min-hyung. I didn’t know you’re here. Hahahaha! But you should’ve seen all you’re faces. This is really fun. Jongdae-hyung said the same thing.”, Jongin said still laughing. “Jongin-ah come back here you brat!”, Jongdae yelled as he comes out of their house. “Oh! Hyung, you’re here.” He said as he saw the three. “We thought we can go to the school together.”, Yixing explained. “Sure! Let’s go”, he agreed forgetting that he was about to scold his younger brother. The five walked towards their school, excitedly talking about how they’ve used their powers over night.

“Baekhyunniee!”, Chanyeol yelled catching up with his friend. He was currently walking to the school playing with a flame on his finger when no one was around then he saw Baekhyun walking across the street, playing with a ball of light on his palms, changing its color every step. Upon hearing Chanyeol, he turned and smiled at the tall boy. “Good morning! How’s your power?”, Chanyeol said as he caught up with him. “It’s fine, I’m trying to manipulate it like Lumos said, but no luck yet. I can change its color and brightness easily now though.”, he replied. “We just got it yesterday, so don’t worry. Lumos will help you for sure.”, Chanyeol said, encouraging the smaller. “Thanks! How about you? Any accidents? You didn’t burn your house down overnight, did you?”, Baekhyun asked with a teasing tone. “No! I didn’t!”, he said defensively and Baekhyun raised his eyebrow. “Well, I almost started a fire when my blanket caught fire but I was able to put it out.” Chanyeol added smiling sheepishly. “HAHAHAHA! I knew it!”, Baekhyun laughed. “I probably should buy another blanket before my mom finds out.”, he thought out loud. “I can help you with that if you like?”, Baekhyun asked. “Really? You will? Sure! Hmmm. It’s a date then?”, Chanyeol said looking at Baekhyun waiting for him to confirm. “It’s a date.”, Baekhyun confirming with a blush.

Sehun is the first to arrive at their spot under the huge tree. He sat down at the grass crossing his long legs and feeling the wind surround him. He waited for a while when he heard footsteps, he saw Kyungsoo walking towards him. “Good morning, hyung!”, Sehun greeted him. “Good morning Sehunnie”, Kyungsoo greeted back sitting beside the younger. “Hyung, can you show me your power again?”, Sehun asked. Kyungsoo looked around and see if there’s anyone else besides them. “Don’t worry hyung. No one’s around. I’ll hear it if there’s someone.”, Sehun said as he saw the worried look of Kyungsoo. “You can do that?”, Kyungsoo asked “Yep, the wind helps me to hear for feet away. I didn’t test yet how far I can hear though. But I’m sure there’s no one else in the school grounds. Aside from us and it think cats.” Sehun reassured the older. Kyungsoo chuckled. “Okay then.”, Kyungsoo put his hands at the ground in front of him then motioned it upwards, a short wall made of earth stood in front of them. “Woooaah! That’s amazing hyung!”, Sehun exclaimed. “Someone’s coming.”, Sehun said after he heard footsteps from the school’s gate and kyungsoo brought the wall down immediately. “I think it’s them. I can hear Junmyeon-hyung’s voice.” Sehun added. “So, you focus on his voice, huh.”, Kyungsoo teased the younger. “Hyuuung!”, Sehun whined and Kyungsoo just chuckled at the younger. “It’s not a secret you know. We can see that you two like each other.”, Kyungsoo said. “Do you think he like me as well?” Sehun asked shyly and Kyungsoo just nodded and ruffled the younger’s hair. Sehun thought about it, thinking of all their interactions, from the smiles to conversations. Maybe Junmyeon really liked him as well. His thoughts were interrupted when the rest of the group arrived at their spot. He looked up and saw Junmyeon looking at him already smiling his favorite smile. He stood up and smiled back and walked next to him and Junmyeon linked their arms. Kyungsoo stood up as well and greeted everyone.

“I found the symbol!”, Yixing said pointing at the side of the tree. “You guys ready?”, he asked. The rest nodded and then he touched the symbol and appeared at the dome room in Elyxion. Soon, the rest of the new guardians appeared one by one. When they are already completed, they looked around the room and found it empty. “Where are they?”, Baekhyun asked. “We’re here!”, Luhan said as he entered the room from the door leading to the garden. “Did you guys had breakfast already?” He asked. “Nope. We’re excited so we came here straight.”, Minseok answered. Luhan smiled at that then said, “Perfect, we prepared breakfast. Let’s go to the patio.”. The guardians went out to the garden again. Chanyeol decided this is his favorite place so far.

The new guardians sat down at the long table again but noticed that Lumos was not there. “Where is guardian Lumos?”, Junmyeon asked the three guardians. “She’s in the training room already, preparing. She said we should eat first then go there when we’re done.”, Yifan answered. Junmyeon nodded and begin eating. The guardians finished their breakfast quickly and head to the training room.

“Where does these doors lead to?”, Jongin asked out of curiosity. “Hmm, this one leads to the library, the next one to the armory, the other side is the kitchen, then there’s the clinic. But I think we’re not gonna need that one because we have Yixing. But just in case, we have medics in there as well.” Luhan said as pointed to the doors they passed by. “On the other end of the hallway there’s the stairs leading to the bedrooms. We have a lot of rooms available. I think there’s one for each guardian”, Tao added. “So, we also have rooms here?”, Jongdae asked. “Yes. Lumos prepared them, just in case you need to stay here.”, Yifan confirmed. “That’s really kind of her.”, Junmyeon said. “She cares for all of us you know. She’s been watching over us for years so she treats us like her own children.”, Luhan informed them. “Maybe we can stay here during weekends?”, Chanyeol suggested. “We should ask permission first. I don’t want to intrude.”, Minseok said. “I think Lumos will love that idea.”, Yifan said to the group. Chanyeol smiled after hearing Yifan’s response.

“Hello children, sorry I wasn’t able to join you for breakfast.” Lumos said as the guardians came in the training room. “It’s okay Lumos. I hope you can join us next time though and thank you for the delicious meal, we really enjoyed them.”, Junmyeon said. The rest nodded in agreement. “You’re welcome, my dear. I’ll join you next time. So, are you boys ready to start?”, Lumos asked them. “Yes!”, they all replied in unison. “Okay then. We’ll start your training on defense first. You all need to learn how to defend before you can attack. Remember that you’ll be facing dark creatures, foul, soulless, blood-thirsty demons and monsters. They are not afraid to attack. They will not care if you’re children or not. You have to be alert at all times. Understood?” Lumos asked them and the boys responded in unison again. “Form a line at the center of the platform first and prepare yourselves. Think of how you can use your power to defend yourselves. Yifan and Luhan will be attacking you.” The guardians formed a line at the center, following the instructions of Lumos. Yifan and Luhan faced them. “Oh, and before we start, Yixing, I need you to practice separately from them. Your power is not meant for fighting but you still need to learn how to defend yourself in combat.”. Lumos said directly to Yixing and the boy nodded understanding. “Tao here, is an expert in martial arts. He trained for years and he’ll be able to teach you everything you need.” Lumos continued gesturing to Tao. “Come on Yixing-ge. Let’s go to the armory. We can practice there.” Tao said. Yixing smiled and followed Tao eagerly. “Okay! Let’s go. I want to see the weapons!” Yixing said excited. “Awww. I want to see the armory too!”, Jongdae said. “You’ll have a chance next time my dear. For now, let’s focus on your powers, okay?”, Lumos responded. Jongdae frowned but agreed with the guardian.

“Let’s begin!” Lumos announced. Water came in surrounding the platform again, the roof of the training room opened, and multiple equipment appeared around the platform, ready to be used for attack by Yifan and Luhan. The two walked around the eight at the center, not wanting to give any hint on who they’re going to attack first. Luhan made a move first, his face turned serious. Multiple dumbbells are lifted in the air then came directly to Sehun at a fast speed but Sehun was ready, he used the wind to counter the attack and pushed them to the wall nearby, cracking it due to the force of impact. “Well done Sehun!” Lumos shouted from somewhere. Sehun smiled smugly at Luhan.

Not long after, Yifan shoot himself to tackle Minseok from behind. Sensing this, Minseok suddenly produced a wall of ice between them out of nowhere. Yifan was able to stop himself before hitting the ice wall. When he flew back, the ice wall disappeared. “Nice reflexes, Minseok!” Lumos praised the guardian. Minseok smiled brightly at this. Junmyeon smiled proudly at his twin. And in just split-seconds, he shoots water to Yifan when he saw that the tall guardian was about to tackle him when he was pre-occupied. Yifan was sent back almost hitting the wall but was able to balance and gain his ground. He smiled, getting excited at the challenge. Junmyeon smiled sweetly at him like he didn’t just shoot him with water. Sehun chuckled at his side after seeing how cute Junmyeon was.

Luhan attacked again, this time sending rocks flying to Kyungsoo but Kyungsoo just closed his fist and the rocks disintegrated. He smiled satisfied of what he did. “Nice control Kyungsoo!” Lumos commented. But Luhan didn’t stop there, he sent rocks after rocks to Kyungsoo then targeted Chanyeol next. Kyungsoo kept pulverizing the rocks before it came near him while chanyeol hit them with fireballs, turning the rocks into dusts. Lumos was pleased of their performance. While Luhan was attacking at front, Yifan decided to target Baekhyun next but Baekhyun was expecting it and flashed a bright light at Yifan’s eyes causing him to back down, unable to approach the smaller. “Hehehe!”, Baekhyun giggled. When he failed on attacking Baekhyun, he turned to Jongin next but Jongin disappeared and reappeared at his back. “Hyung! I’m here!”, he called out to Yifan. Yifan turned and dashed at him but then Jongin disappeared again and appeared next to Kyungsoo. “Hahahaha! This is fun!”, he said. “Ssshhh! Jongin-ah. I’m concentrating here. Luhan is not giving us a break”, Kyungsoo scolded as he kept defending himself from Luhan, Chanyeol at his other side and now joined by Sehun as well as he tried to deflect the rocks back to Luhan but Luhan is still in control.

When Yifan failed at attacking Jongin, he turned his attention next to Jongdae who is waiting for him smiling smugly. Yifan flew staright to him and Jongdae didn’t even move which confused him. When his fist came in contact with Jongdae’s skin, he was shot to the ground. The younger smiled even wider when his trick worked. Jongdae let electricity flow thru his body so when the older touched him, he was electrocuted just enough to throw him to the ground. “That’s a good technique Jongdae!”, Yifan praised him. “But that hurt like hell!”, Yifan whined. The guardians continue practicing their defense the whole morning. Thinking of other ways to defend themselves with the guidance of Lumos.

In the armory, Tao is teaching Yixing on how to defend himself in combat. They used the different weapons available, finding the best fit for Yixing. They discovered that Yixing is good at using at almost all of the weapons but he moved best using a bow and arrow for long range and two hilted daggers for close encounters. They focused on using the swords first for defense. Tao is really impressed with how Yixing is quickly learning the moves he taught him and use them against him. They were enjoying sparring when Luhan interrupted them. “Yixing, Tao. Let’s go have lunch first.”, Luhan said as he entered the armory followed by Jongdae and Chanyeol who insisted on coming to see the armory. “Woooooah! This is so cool!!!”, Chanyeol exclaimed. “Can we use all of these?”, Jongdae asked. “Yes, but Lumos said you guys need to focus on mastering your powers first.”, Tao answered. The two looked around the room touching stuffs here and there.

“Oh! Yifan needs your help Yixing.” Luhan said. “Is he hurt? What happened to Yifan-ge?”, Tao asked concerned. “Oh. That’s my fault. He was electrocuted when he attacked me earlier. He has a small burn in his fist.”, Jongdae informed the two. “Okay, where is he?”, Yixing asked. “In the patio, let’s go there now. The others are waiting.”, Luhan said. The five of them went back to the patio. Yifan is sitting on his chair, his fist covered with ice care of Minseok. “I’m here! What should I do?”, Yixing asked Lumos. “Just do the same thing you did yesterday with the wilted plant my dear. But this time, focus on the damaged cells in Yifan’s fist, okay?” Lumos instructed and Yixing nodded. He stood next to Yifan and hold out his hand over his fist. His hands glowed again and Yifan felt something warm then in a few seconds, the pain went away. Yixing opened his eyes and smiled when he saw that he succeded. “Well done my dear!”, Lumos said as she put his hands on Yixing’s shoulder. Yifan inspects his hands and felt better than ever. “Thanks, Yixing!” he said to the healer. “You’re my first patient!”, Yixing said smiling at Yifan and the rest chuckled. “Okay let’s eat now. You children must have been starving after all the training this morning. You all done really well. I’m so proud of you.” Lumos said to the new guardians. The new guardians smiled at each other then started eating.

After they ate their lunch, they were given time to rest, relax and explore the garden, library and to Jongdae’s joy, the armory. Most of the group head to the armory, led by Jongdae who’s excited to try the weapons while Minseok and Kyungsoo chose to check on the kitchen. Chanyeol and Baekhyun went to explore the garden. Since the first time they’ve been there, Chanyeol was dying to approach the small animals. He chased around the bunnies, squirrels and others like a child while Baekhyun points where they went until he caught a bunny. He cradled it in his arms like a baby and Baekhyun cooed at the adorable animal. “Somehow this bunny reminds me of Junmyeon-hyung.”, Baekhyun said. “I know right? I think it’s because of the cheeks?”, Chanyeol shared his thoughts. “Exactly! That’s it! I bet Sehun would love this cutie.”, Baekhyun said. “Let’s take a picture and send it to him.”, Chanyeol said as he took out his phone which surprisingly has a good service, considering they’re on a different realm. He took a picture of the cute, white and fluffy rabbit then send it to their youngest.

In the library, Junmyeon is currently scanning the books in one of the numerous shelves in the huge library. He’s so impressed with the collection of books they have, although some are written with unknown language. He is accompanied by Sehun who is also looking at some books with pictures of the different parts of Elyxion when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He’s surprised that it even has service in that realm. He took his phone out and opened the image that Chanyeol sent him. “Waah! It’s so cute! It looks like you Junmyeon-hyung. Look!”, he said showing Junmyeon the picture of the bunny. Junmyeon blushed of how Sehun thinks the cute bunny looks like him. After a few minutes roaming the library, they sat at a table beside a window looking over the garden where they can see Chanyeol and Baekhyun chasing bunnies.

“Do you remember hyung? We first met at a library?”, Sehun asked in a low voice looking at him. Junmyeon looked at the blushing boy across him. “Yes, I remember it well. I thought you were really cute back then and can’t help myself to call you over.”, Junmyeon confessed. Sehun was taken aback of Junmyeon’s words which encourage him to say his next words. “I like you Junmyeon-hyung.”, Sehun confessed, staring directly at the eyes of the older. He might as well confessed now while they’re alone and he still have the courage to do so. Junmyeon smiled sweetly at the younger and said, “I like you too Sehunnie.”. Sehun’s eyes grew wide and smiled from ear to ear, hearing the words he’s been dreaming of hearing ever since they met. “R-really? Are you sure?”, Sehun asked, still not believing what he heard. Junmyeon chuckled, stood up and went next to Sehun’s side, the younger faced Junmyeon but remained sitting. Junmyeon cupped Sehun’s face with his one hand, brushed his cheeks with his thumb then bent down and kissed him on the forehead then his nose then lastly on his lips. The kiss was gentle and sweet that only lasted for a few seconds but made Sehun’s heart beat so fast that it feels like his chest is about to explode. Junmyeon backed up a little to see the younger’s reaction but then Sehun immediately pulled him back for another kiss, longer this time, their lips now moving against each other slowly, with no sign of wanting to stop at all. They only stopped when they needed to catch their breaths and both chuckled and blushed at the same time. “Wow. That was…”, Sehun started, can’t think clearly. “Amazing. I know.”, Junmyeon finished for him, feeling the same way. “Can we do it again?”, Sehun asked smiling and Junmyeon chuckled but then leaned in again for another kiss, finding it impossible to resist the younger. 

They were kissing for a while, enjoying and savoring the moment when Sehun heard someone approaching and then he pulled back, annoyed, “Uggh.”. “Why? What’s wrong?” Junmyeon asked concerned, when Jongin suddenly appeared. “There you two are. It’s time to go back to training. Wait…”, Jongin paused, sensing something. “Did I interrupted something?”, he asked as he looked at his two friends who are now avoiding his eyes and flustered. He saw their current position and lips that looks a little swollen then he laughed out loud. “Oh my god! Were you making out? Are you two a thing now? Finally, Sehunnie! I didn’t know you have it in you! I can’t wait to tell the others.” He said then disappeared. The two looked at each other then laughed at Jongin’s reaction then they both head out to the training room, holding hands, not caring of the teasing they sure will get.

When they reached the training room, cheers errupted, Jongin’s laugh dominating. “Woooh! Congrats you two! Finally!”, Jongdae shouted. “Please don’t start kissing in front of us.”, Baekhyun teased the two. “Shut up Baekhyun-hyung.”, Sehun said blushing, thinking of the kiss in the library. “Why are you blushing? Are you thinking of kissing Junmyeon-hyung?”, Chanyeol teased. That made Sehun blushed even more. “Okay, that’s enough teasing.”, Minseok stopped the three before the youngest turned full red. “Congrats you two! Sehun, I expect you to take care of my twin, alright?” Minseok added. “Yes, hyung. I will.” Said looking serious and determined. “I’m older hyung and besides I can take care of myself.”, Junmyeon pouted at his twin. Minseok chuckled, “Alright, alright. Let’s get back to training.”. Kyungsoo approached Sehun and whispered, “I told you so.”. Sehun then smiled at his hyung.

After a few more teasing from the other guardians and a congratulations from Lumos, they went back to their training, this time Yifan and Tao teamed up to do the attack against the 8 guardians while Luhan practiced with Yixing. Lumos saw great improvement in just a short period of time. The new guardians are getting stronger and will still get stronger once they master their powers. After a few more hours, the new guardians are all exhausted so Lumos prepared some drinks and snacks for them to recover their energy and strength. They ate their hearts out and rest for a bit.

After resting, they are all gathered in the dome room again, preparing to go home. “Lumos? Is it possible to have Yifan, Luhan and Tao attend our school as well?”, Junmyeon asked remembering their conversation in the tteokbokki shop yesterday. Lumos smiled and responded. “Actually, I was thinking of the same thing. It will be good if all of you are together and the three of them get used to the Exordium realm again so I already prepared everything. I talked to the three of them yesterday and they will be attending your school starting tomorrow.”. “That’s great! We’ll show you around tomorrow!”, Baekhyun said. “Yes. We’ll help you with the lessons and home works as well.”, Minseok added. “I can help in everything else except the lessons. I think Min-hyung, Junmyeon-hyung and Kyungsoo got that covered.”, Chanyeol said. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at Chanyeol’s comment but didn’t disagree. “Thanks guys! I’m excited to go to school again. It has been so long.”, Luhan said. “I can’t even remember what school was like.”, Tao said worried. “Don’t worry, we got your back.”, Jongin said to Tao. “We’ll be fine.”, Yifan said reassuring the younger. “Okay my dears, it’s time for you to go home now. It’s getting late. You should rest well and conserve your energy. Let’s meet up back here tomorrow after your school activities, okay?”. Lumos said and the guardians nodded.

They said their goodbyes and touched the EXO symbol in the wall one by one. When they got back to their own realm, they felt more tired than ever. They walked silently, too tired to even talk and just went back to their respective homes.

As Junmyeon lied down his bed, he took his phone and sent a message to his now boyfriend.

 **To: My Sehunnie <3**  
_Good night Sehunnie :*_  


**From: My Sehunnie <3**  
_Good night Myeonnie :* See you tomorrow :)_  


Junmyeon smiled widely after he read Sehuns reply hoping he can hear Sehun calling him ‘Myeonnie’ instead of just reading it. Maybe tomorrow, he thought as he fell asleep.

The next morning the new guardians decided to meet in their spot under the huge tree to wait for Yifan, Luhan and Tao. They want to welcome them properly and show them around before the class starts. Again, Sehun was the first to arrive, followed by Kyungsoo. The rest followed after a few minutes. Junmyeon immediately go to Sehun’s side upon arriving, holding his hand. “Good morning Sehunnie!” he said then he kisses his cheek. The younger blushed but replied, “Good morning Myeonnie”, then he kissed Junmyeon on the forehead. Junmyeon was delighted at hearing the nickname from Sehun. “Yaaah! I told you don’t start kissing in front of us.”, Baekhyun said teasingly at the two. Sehun just shrugged and Junmyeon giggled. After a few minutes of waiting, Yifan appeared followed by Luhan then lastly Tao who looks really nervous. Jongin put his arm around Tao’s shoulder then said, “Dude, don’t be nervous, you have the same class with me and Sehun. We got you.”. Tao relaxed a bit after hearing this and nodded at his friend. “Yifan and Luhan, you’ll have the same class with me, Minseok and Junmyeon”, Yixing said to the other two. “You guys ready?”, Yixing asked. “Yup. Let’s do this.”, Yifan said and Luhan nodded.

The other guardians led them to the main building and pointed out all the classrooms, library, their spot in the cafeteria, gym, club rooms and etc. They also talked about the school’s clubs they can join. “Can I still join the Music club?”, he asked Minseok. “Of course, I’ll give you the form later.”, Minseok replied. “How about you Yifan and Tao? Do you guys have any club in mind?”, Junmyeon asked the two. “I think I want to join the Arts club.”, Yifan said. “Okay, I’ll look for their rep and hand you the form later.”, Junmyeon said. “I want to join the Dance club!”, Tao said. “Good choice, my friend. I have the form here. Just give it to me or Jongin and Sehun later.”, Yixing said to the younger.

After the tour around the school, they all went to their respective classes. They started their week like any normal high school students but what others don’t know is after, they’ll be training again as the new guardians of the world.

### To be continued...


	5. Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Anywhere is fine Do you want to leave tonight? Do you want to leave?  
> To a place where the sky is blue and there are a lot of stars To a place like that  
> A-yo, A-yo, Run a little bit more I think we’re almost there  
> A-yo, A-yo, Don’t be scared I’m right here  
> Yo! Run with power Don’t stop  
> Grab my hand and slowly open your eyes  
> Don’t be too shocked! U Ready?”

# Run

The guardians are currently on their morning classes and trying to pay attention. In the juniors’ class, the teacher left for a bit as the students are working hard on solving their calculus problems when suddenly someone whispered in Chanyeol’s ears. “Hyung!”, the voice asked. Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun, “What did you say?”. “What? I didn’t say anything.”, Baekhyun replied confused. Chanyeol was sure he heard something. “Pssst! Hyung.”, the voice whispered again. “Who is that?!”, Chanyeol shouted suddenly. The rest of his classmates looked at him weirdly, wondering what’s wrong with him. He sat down lower ashamed of his outburst but didn’t hear anything after. Jongdae laughed at his friend and Kyungsoo looked at him, “What’s your problem?” he asked the tall boy. “Someone’s calling me, whispering in my ear.”, he replied, irritated. Kyungsoo suddenly thought of Sehun’s ability. He chuckled and turned back to his work after realizing that the youngest must be pranking Chanyeol.

After a moment later, Baekhyun shouted, “Yah! Where did my answers go?!”. He looked back at the other pages of his workbook and the answers are all gone like it’s just a new workbook. Kyungsoo looked at his workbook and saw that it’s blank. “Are you sure that you answered that one already?” Kyungsoo asked. “Yes! I copied your answer.”, said proudly. “You copied my answer?”, Kyungsoo asked raising his eyebrow. “Then justice is served. I have to thank that boy later.”, he added smiling, knowing who is the culprit. Looks like the maknaes are having fun with their powers. “You know who did this?!”, Baekhyun asked Kyungsoo. “Yes. Isn’t it obvious?”, Kyungsoo responded then got back on his own workbook.

A few minutes after the incident with Baekhyun’s workbook, Jongdae suddenly fell off his sit surprised, the lights flickered a bit and his friends looked at him laughing. “What happened to you?”, Chanyeol asked still laughing. “That brat. He popped in here then disappeared when he saw me fall. It nearly gave me a heart attack! He’s lucky no one else saw him and I didn’t zap him on the spot.”, Jongdae said irritated as well. Kyungsoo heard and chuckled again. The maknaes better be prepared later. His three friends will not let this go.

The bell finally rang for lunch. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae made it a mission to get back on the 3 maknaes after learning from Kyungsoo that it was probably them. It made sense, Sehun controlled the wind to send a whisper in Chanyeol’s ears, Tao use his power on Baekhyun’s workbook and well, it’s pretty obvious for Jongin. The three ran straight to the younger guardian’s class. Luckily, Sehun, Tao and Jongin are still in there, they waited by the door planning to ambush them but the three never came out. They looked inside the classroom and never found them.

The three juniors went to the cafeteria next and when they entered, they saw the maknaes hiding behind their seniors. Sehun used Junmyeon and Minseok as shields, Tao is behind Kris and Jongin is behind Luhan and Yixing. Kyungsoo is sitting down waiting for what’s going to happened next. “What did you boys do?”, Junmyeon asked the three maknaes and sighed as the juniors approach them looking irritated. “They played a prank on those three idiots.”, Kyungsoo answered for them chuckling. “How did you know it was us hyung?”, Sehun asked. “It’s not rocket science Sehunnie. And besides, Jongin actually showed himself. It’s not hard to figure out.”, Kyungsoo said as he continues to watch them.

“How the hell did the three of you got passed as?”, Chanyeol asked as they reached their table. “Jongin.”, Tao answered like Jongin’s name is enough for an explanation. “Yes, he can teleport but what about you two?”, Baekhyun followed up. “He took us with him, hyung.”, Sehun explained and Jongin grinned widely for his accomplishment. “Woah! You can take someone with you?”, Jongdae asked his brother. “Yep! Great right? As long as they touch me, I can teleport with them.”, Jongin explained still smiling. “Wow! That’s a great improvement Jongin! But that’s dangerous. What if someone saw you huh?”, Junmyeon scolded. “And the three of you, apologize to your hyungs now.”, Minseok said to the three. The maknaes stepped forward and bow their heads and apologized. “You brats! Just wait when we get back at you.”, Baekhyun said then sighed. “It was Sehunnie’s idea though.”, Jongin ratted his best friend out. Sehun slapped his back, “But you still agreed, duffus!”. “Okay. Okay. That’s enough. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae, please don’t do anything dangerous or stupid or worse, both.”, Junmyeon said. The three nodded, letting it go, for now.

The guardians then start eating their lunch. “By the way, Music club will have a quick meeting after classes. Just introductions of new members”, Minseok informed the group as they eat. “Dance club have nothing scheduled for the week so we can just wait in our spot under the huge tree later.”, Yixing said. “Myeonnie do you have student council meeting later? I need help on the home work I destroyed yesterday. It’s due tomorrow.”, Sehun asked his boyfriend. “Nope. I’m free later. I can help you while waiting for the others.”, Junmyeon replied. “Hyuuuung! Help me too!”, Jongin interrupted. “Suho-hyung, can you help me as well?”, Tao joined their conversation. “Alright, alright. I’ll help all of you.”, Junmyeon said to the other two smiling at them. “I can help you guys too.”, Kyungsoo added. “Uhm, Yixing, can you help me too? I want to catch up on our lessons.”, Yifan asked. “Of course! Anything for my first patient and now student.”, Yixing agreed. “Thanks, Yixing!”, Yifan replied chuckling. Okay, that’s settled then. Luhan, Baek, Chanyeol, Jongdae and I will go to the Music room after class and the rest of you will wait for us on our spot.”, Minseok finalized.

The group went to their next classes after lunch. It didn’t take long before the afternoon classes were over. Minseok and the rest of the music club went straight to the music room while the rest went to their spot and begun their planned study session. The Music club’s meeting didn’t last long and they immediately went to their spot and found their friends huddled over their books and home works. “We’re here! How are you guys?”, Minseok said as they arrived at their spot. “We’re almost done. Thanks to Junmyeon-hyung and Kyungsoo-hyung.”, Tao replied to the older. “We’re done here. Just waiting for them to finish.”, Yifan also replied. A few more minutes and the maknaes’ home work is done as well. “Okay, let’s go!”, Jongdae said when they got up. They looked around to see if anyone is watching them and one by one, they touched the symbol and went back to Elyxion.

The guardians continued with their defense training. Yifan, Luhan and Tao swapping to train Yixing as well. The nine other guardians are getting more and more in control of their powers. They discovered new tricks and used them. Lumos is pleased with their progress and after a few hours, they stopped their training. They can only train a few hours during weekdays, so their defense training should last until Friday.

After they were done, they are once again saying their goodbyes in the dome room and promised to be back again the next day. “Boys, before you go, I have a request from you all.”, Lumos said as they prepare to go back to their realm. “What is it Lumos?”, Junmyeon asked. “On the coming weekend, I think it will be best if you stay over here in Elyxion. We’ll be starting to train your powers for attacking by then and I want to maximize the time we have.” Lumos requested. “Really? We can stay here? Nice!”, Jongdae exclaimed. “I think we can do that Lumos. No problem!”, Minseok replied. “Yes! Sleep over party!”, Baekhyun said. “Calm down, Baekhyun. We’re here to train remember?”, Junmyeon remind the younger. “Yeah, but we can still have fun after, right?”, Chanyeol support Baekhyun’s idea. “That would be fine boys. As long as you complete your training first.”, Lumos allowed. “Yes!”, the rest shouted. Junmyeon shook his head but also glad they can still have fun.

“See you tomorrow!”, Jongdae said to Yifan, Luhan and Tao. “Oh! by the way, we’ll take you tomorrow to our favorite tteokbokki shop.”, Chanyeol said to the three before touching the symbol. “We’ll also have bubble tea!”, Sehun said following Chanyeol after waving goodbye. “Thank you again, Lumos. See you tomorrow guys!”, Junmyeon said lastly before touching the symbol.

The boys all went home and rest again. The following days, they have the same routine. Meet up at their spot under the huge tree in the morning, hang out a little bit then go to classes, then lunch, then classes again and training after. They are all exhausted every end of day but they feel it’s worth it. They are getting better at using their powers. They’re more comfortable now and more confident as they train.

The week passed by and the weekend is finally here. The 12 guardians are currently in their favorite tteokbokki shop after buying their bubble tea. They’re a regular in the shop by now and the shop owner knows them all already. They decided to meet up in the shop after getting their stuff for their planned weekend training in Elyxion. Before going back to the other realm, they stuff their stomach first with tteokbokki. After eating, they headed to the portal. “I’m so full now. I want to sleep.”, Jongin said while they’re walking. “Let’s go ahead first Kyungsoo-hyung.”, he said and hold Kyungsoo’s hand and teleported before the older can even respond.

The two appeared in their spot near the portal. “Jongin-ah! That was dangerous. What if somebody else saw us.”, Kyungsoo scolded the younger. “It’s alright hyung. No one’s here. See?”, Jongin said as he pointed around. Kyungsoo just sighed not wanting to argue anymore and sat down in the grass and stretched his feet out. Jongin sat down as well but then decided to settle his head on Kyungsoo’s lap. Kyungsoo didn’t object and let the younger be. Jongin closed his eyes and enjoyed their solemn moment. After a while, Kyungsoo started to brush Jongin’s hair with his fingers. Jongin smiled and almost purred like a cat, feeling relaxed and happy. Kyungsoo stared at him smiling and admiring the younger’s handsome face. It’s hard not to like the younger on his lap.

“Yah! What are you two doing?”, Jongdae said as the rest of the group arrived. “Just resting.”, Jongin answered, unbothered but he got up eventually. Good thing it’s dark already so no one saw the blush on Kyungsoo’s cheeks. “Oooooh! I smell another couple!”, Yixing said, teasing. “Let’s go now. Lumos must be waiting.”, Kyungsoo said, avoiding the topic. He then went to the symbol and touched it before anyone else start teasing them. Soon, they all arrived in the dome room where Lumos is waiting.

“Good evening my dear children. We will not have our training today. I have to go check something so I’ll let you all rest and we’ll start first thing tomorrow, alright?”, Lumos said to the 12 new guardians. “Where will we stay, Lumos?”, Junmyeon asked. “I’ve prepared your bedrooms already. Yifan, Luhan and Tao will show you your rooms. I’m sorry but I have to go first. See you all tomorrow.”, Lumos said as he heads outside.

“Is there something wrong? Lumos looks worried.”, Minseok asked Luhan. “Hmmm. I’m not sure. She didn’t tell us anything earlier.”, Luhan replied, also wondering what happened. “Okay guys, let’s go upstairs to our rooms.”, Yifan called over them and head to the direction of the stairs. There are two wings of rooms, they went to the right side. “What’s on the other wing?”, Junmyeon asked. “The rooms of the old guardians and Lumos.”, Yifan replied. “Oh. Okay, so will we have separate rooms?”, Junmyeon asked. “Well, we only have 6 rooms available so we have to pair up.”, Yifan answered again. “This is my room, I share it with Tao.”, Yifan pointed at the first door on their left. “And this is my room.”, Luhan said pointing to the room across Yifan and Tao’s room. “Anyone care to share with me?”, Luhan asked the group. “I will.”, Minseok volunteered and Luhan smiled. The two grew close in the past few days because of their similar fondness on soccer so Minseok thought this would be a great opportunity to know Luhan further. Luhan smiled at his friend and ushered him inside their room.

“Okay, now we have 4 rooms left. Who would be roomates?”, Yifan asked the remaining guardians. “I want to share with Myeonnie!”, Sehun proclaimed. “Ooooh. Sehunnieee! What are you planning?”, Baekhyun teased. “Shut up hyung!”, Sehun said blushing and the others laughed. “Then I want Kyungsoo-hyung!”, Jongin announced. “Hey! I’m your brother! What about me?”, Jongdae whined but Jongin just stuck his tongue out at his brother and linked his arms with Kyungsoo. “I’ll room with you Jongdae.”, Yixing volunteered. “Thanks, hyung!”, Jongdae said smiling. “Then that leaves Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”, Yifan finalized. Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked at each other and smiled. “You can choose any room you like. There’s a bathroom for each room by the way. The rooms are similar and simple but you can decorate it as you like. Besides, we usually just us the rooms for sleeping anyway”, Yifan told the group. Each pair then went to their room to settle down and rest. They know they’ll have a long day tomorrow so they all want to save up energy.

“Myeonnie? Are you still awake?”, Sehun asked while he’s staring at the ceiling on his own bed. He can’t seem to sleep since the place is unfamiliar. “Hmm. You can’t sleep?”, Junmyeon replied with his eyes closed. “Yeaaah. Can I go there?”, Sehun asked. “Sure, Sehunnie. Come here.”, Junmyeon said as he scooted to the side, back facing the wall. Sehun got up from his bed and move to Junmyeon’s bed. He lay down facing Junmyeon, head resting on the older’s arms. He then placed his arms in Junmyeon’s torso, hugging him while Junmyeon smiled and moved closer to the younger and kissing him in the forehead. “This is more I like it.”, Sehun murmured. Junmyeon chuckled. “Let’s go to sleep now Sehunnie. Good night.”. He kissed the younger boy in the lips and placed his head on top of Sehun’s. “Good night Myeonnie.”, Sehun said after the kiss, satisfied.

The next morning, Jongin and Kyungsoo are the first to wake up. After they changed their clothes for training, they went to check on the other guardians. Jongin popped in Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room then suddenly, he screamed. “Waaaaaaah! What is this? What are you guys doing?!” Jongin screamed as he covers his eyes. When he popped in their room, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were in a deep kiss on the bed with Chanyeol shirtless. The two panicked at the sight of Jongin in their room. “What the hell Jongin?! What are you doing in our room?!?”, Chanyeol shouted at the younger. “I was going to check if you guys are awake already. And apparently you are!”, Jongin shouted back. “Then why didn’t you just knock like a normal person would?!”, Baekhyun shouted as well while Chanyeol wears his shirt. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! My god! my eeeyyyeees!” Jongin screamed and teleported out of the room.

The shouting from Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room wake everyone up. They all went to see what was happening. “Chanyeol? Baekhyun? Are you guys okay? I heard shouting?”, Luhan asked as he knock on their door with the rest of the guardians at his back. Then Jongin reappeared. “They were kissing! Chanyeol-hyung is shirtless! And they were kissing! With toungues!”, Jongin said scandalized. “TMI Jongin-ah and how did you know that?”, Minseok asked the younger. “Well, I popped in their room earlier to check if they’re awake and I saw them kissing and Chanyeol-hyung is shirtless.”, Jongin answered and repeated his statement. “Jongin-ah, I said to check on them but like a normal person. Why did you popped into their room?”, Kyungsoo scolded. “I’m sorry hyung. I learned my lesson. I will not do that again. Ever!”, Jongin promised, traumatized. “Okay, let’s go down. Let’s just wait for them downstairs.”, Junmyeon said to the group giving the other two more time. He was glad that Jongin didn’t choose to pop in their room.

By the time Chanyeol and Baekhyun went down, the rest of the guardians are all dressed in training clothes, colors matching their power orbs and are all already seated in the long table at the patio. “Jongin-ah, I swear I’ll blind you if you popped into our room again.”, Baekhyun warned the younger. “I’m sorry hyung. It’s not like I wanted to see that!”, Jongin apologized. “So, are you two together now? Since when?”, Yixing asked smiling at them. “Yes, we are. Since just yesterday, I guess. We didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”, Chanyeol answered. “Oh my god! Am I going to be a third wheel now?”, Jongdae whined and everyone laughed.

After everyone is settled and done with their breakfast, they went to the training room where Lumos is already waiting. The original guardian is smiling at them as they enter but she looked tired. The guardians are worried but they didn’t say anything, not wanting to stress Lumos out. They trust that Lumos will tell them if there’s something wrong.

“Good morning everyone! Were you able to rest well?”, Lumos said. “Yes, Lumos. We’re well rested and ready to start.”, Junmyeon answered on behalf of everyone. “I’m glad to hear that. Okay then, let’s start.”, Lumos responded. “Today we’ll focus on your individual powers, on how you can use them to attack. Yixing will be a special case, since his powers are not meant to harm others. Yixing, you will make use of the best weapon that suits you in the armory. And I believe Tao mentioned you have a special talent on archery and using daggers”, Lumos continued. “Yes, Lumos. I’m most comfortable in using those.” Yixing replied. “Well then, you can use them for today. You’ll be joining your friends from now on.” Lumos said and Yixing smiled, relieved that he can train with his friends.

The original guardian snapped her fingers and 12 dummy robot monsters appeared. The guardians stepped back and got ready to fight but then Lumos spoke again. “Let me explain first what’s going to happen. As you can see, there are 12 robot monsters, each has capabilities to counter your powers. This training will be sort of like a simulation to see how will you fight together and to see what you need to improve on. Based on this simulation’s result, we’ll decide on what you boys should focus on training for tomorrow. The task is simple. You just have to defeat the 12 robot monsters.” Lumos explained. “Do you understand?”, she asked the guardians. “Yes, Lumos!” the guardians answered together. “Okay. Let’s begin!”, Lumos shouted marking the start of their training.

Yixing grabbed his bow and arrow and sheath his two daggers. His arrows are not regular arrows. Some of the arrows are dipped with poison, some explode upon contact and the others can produce smoke screen when shot. These are enough for now. He’ll have to figure out other tricks he can do once done with this simulation. Minseok and Junmyeon stood together in the center of the group, thinking they’re powers will be stronger if used together. Chanyeol and Jongdae positioned themselves at the edge, Chanyeol at the left and Jongdae on the right. The rest are scattered in between them and Yifan is flying above them getting a better vantage point.

The robots are waiting for the guardians to attack. At one moment no one moved but then, Yifan shouted, “Kyungsoo, try to shake them.”. Kyungsoo quickly understood and hold his hand over the ground and focused on opening the ground under the robots but the robots quickly moved and attacked. There are a lot happened since then. Sehun blast strong winds against the robot in front of him, shooting it backward. Luhan did the same thing but he trapped one robot in the open ground then shout at Kyungsoo to close it. One robot down, 11 to go. Junmyeon create a big ball of water, trapping one robot inside it, floating above ground. Upon seeing this, Minseok freeze the ball of water then crushed the ball of ice together with robot. The twins smiled satisfied. On the other side, one robot is currently burning to the ground care of Chanyeol while Jongdae successfully blast one robot using electricity emitting from his hands.

One robot run straight to Baekhyun but Jongin teleported them both out of the way. After gaining his ground, Baekhyun blast a light laser through the robot creating a small hole at the eye of the robot. “Woah! That was cool hyung! What was that?”, Jongin asked the older, amazed. “Laser Light! Cool right?”, Baekhyun said, smiling smugly. “I’ll bring you another target.”, Jongin said and disappeared. “Hyung! Incoming!”, he shouted across the room. He teleported with the robot just in front of Baekhyun for him to have a clear shot then popped back at Baekhyun’s side. Baekhyun shot another laser light directed to the robot’s eyes and killed the robot. Suddenly Yifan dropped one robot at their side crushing it in the ground, surprising both of them. “Remind me not to mess with Yifan-hyung.”, Baekhyun said to Jongin and the younger nod, “Me too.”.

Up front, they saw Yixing running forward with Tao at his side. “Tao! Now!”, Tao held his hand out and the robot stopped midair and Yixing slide under it, slicing through the robot with his two daggers then run back with Tao and shot 1 exploding arrow at the robot’s head, finishing it. “Wooooh! That was cool Tao and Yixing-hyung!”, Jongdae said cheering at the side. Only one robot left and Sehun has it dangling in air but then he shoot it to the ground, head first, with great force, crushing the robot’s head.

They all thought it’s over when the robot buried underground, blasted up surprising them but Kyungsoo didn’t gave it a chance to approach them. Vines shoot above the ground, covering the robot and when he closed his fist, the robot was crushed by the vines. All of them are now drained and catching their breath. They’ve done it. They destroyed all the robots. “Well done my children! Well done!”, Lumos praised them and the guardians smiled, happy thinking they completed the task already. “But I’m afraid you’re not done yet.”, Lumos said and snapped her fingers. Another batch of robots appeared, but this time, there’s twice as many. “I knew that felt too easy.”, Tao said quietly. “Guardians get ready!”, Junmyeon shouted at the group. After a moment they attacked again.

The fight lasted a little longer than the first. The second batch of robots are faster and smarter than the first. It’s like they evolved. Lumos watch them closely, observing their fighting style, shouting encouragements. A few more minutes passed and they destroyed the robots again. Lumos smiled pleased with the results but snapped her finger again, revealing more robots. “Awaaeee! Where do they even come from? Is there a robot factory hidden in this place?”, Jongdae whined, getting tired of the fight. “Maybe we should just destroy the factory.”, Yixing said as he is getting tired as well. “Guys, I found their weakness.”, Baekhyun said. “If you can’t crush them, aim for their eyes!”, he shouted at the group. The guardians nodded and attacked again. They fight the robots again, getting more skilled and more fluid with their movements. They moved together and support each other’s fight, assisting where needed. Aside from improving their powers, their teamwork improved as well. They are now getting used to fighting together, their trust with each other growing more as they continue.

The fight finally ended after five rounds of robots. All of them are sitting on the ground now, lacking strength to even stand up except for Yixing who seems to be just catching his breath but is still standing. He then thought of something. Maybe he can give them energy, he thinks it’s still considered as healing. “Guys, I’m going to try something.”. He knelt next to Minseok first and hold his hand then closed his eyes. He imagined his powers flowing through his hands towards Minseok. “Woah! What was that? It’s like my exhaustion drifted away.”, Minseok said. “I think, I just healed you.”, Yixing said. “But now I’m feeling the exhaustion. Maybe it just transferred to me?”, Yixing added but still head to the others to do the same. By the time he finished, all of them are strong enough to stand up. Although Yixing is sweating bad already. “Are you okay, Yixing?”, Junmyeon asked his friend, concerned. “Yup, I’m fine. Just tired.”, Yixing said smiling.

“Okay, let’s end this simulation. You all did a great job, my children! Let’s head to the patio so we can have lunch and rest for a while. You’ve all used a great amount of power. You need to replenish first before we continue.”, Lumos said to the tired guardians. They all went to the patio and immediately devoured the food, no one talking, just focusing on eating. After they ate, they were given time again to rest first before they proceed with their training. Some of them, went exploring the garden or in Jongdae’s case, the armory again, this time accompanied by his brother and Kyungsoo.

Junmyeon and Sehun decided to go back to their room since Junmyeon want to have a quick nap, but Sehun is thinking of another way to recharge. When they reached their room and laid down the bed, Sehun asked, “Myeonnie, can I kiss you?”. Junmyeon looked at him and replied, “You know you don’t have to ask permission every time, right?”. Sehun smiled then kissed Junmyeon on the lips. The kiss started sweet and gentle, Sehun pecked Junmyeon a few times then their lips started to move together slowly. A few minutes more, it turned into a more passionate kiss, both of them kissing hard and urgently, bodies coming closer until there’s no space between them. Wanting more, Sehun bit Junmyeon’s lower lip making the older gasp and Sehun took this opportunity to slide his tongue inside of Junmyeon’s mouth. The older welcomed it with his own and their tongues tangled with each other, exploring each other’s mouth. This is a new kiss for both of them. Their previous kisses only involved their lips but now, their tongues are fighting for dominance which Sehun eventually won. The younger sucked Junmyeon’s tongue earning a moan from the older. Upon hearing the older’s moan, Sehun suddenly felt something down below but before they can get any further, someone knocked at their door, interrupting their heated kiss. “If it’s Jongin again, I swear I’m gonna knock his wind out of him.”, Sehun said irritated but Junmyeon just chuckled although also disappointed that they were interrupted again. Junmyeon got up and open the door, revealing his twin. “We need to go back to the training room now. Rest time is over.”, Minseok said. “Okay, hyung. We’ll be right down.” Junmyeon answered. “Come on, Sehunnie. We need to go back.”, Junmyeon motioned to the younger. “Can we do it again later?”, Sehun asked seriously. Junmyeon laughed but nodded, unable to resist him.

They’re training with new set of robots again, this time bigger and faster. Also, unlike this morning, the guardians are divided into two teams. The two teams will have to fight the robots in turn. This way, they can see the fighting style of each other, their capabilities as well as their weaknesses. The fight of the two teams lasted longer than expected. They discovered that it was harder to fight when there are fewer of them working together but also realized that they need learn how to fight without the whole team present. They will not always be together during fights. They might get separated so this training is really beneficial to all of them.

After the afternoon training was done, they went back to their rooms to clean up and get ready for dinner. They all changed to more comfortable clothes. They can feel their bodies are sore from all the fighting they did today. But luckily enough, no one was badly hurt. They all went down to the patio to have dinner. They talked about their training, their observations then teased each other and laughed together. Despite the sore bodies, the exhaustion, they all felt happy, even Lumos who was visibly tired, is laughing with them. For a moment she forgot about her worries. Worries that they need to face soon enough. They’re losing time and she needs to teach the young guardians as much as she can before things gets worse. But tonight, she let them have fun and enjoy the moment. She’ll tell them soon. She needs to tell them that a fight is near.

### To be continued...


	6. El Dorado

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Find the El Dorado  
> when that place calls out to me,  
> I won’t just stand around  
> The same place where I stand
> 
> Into that light that is laid out in front of us  
> towards the future where no one knows what will happen  
> the steps that will be legendary later on, the El Dorado  
> even if on some days, storms fall upon me,  
> I’m not afraid if we are together, oh El Dorado”

# El Dorado

The guardian’s Saturday training was a success. They learned a lot of techniques, they improved their moves and teamwork and still managed to have fun. After their dinner, Lumos went to rest first while the young guardians decided to take a walk and explore beyond the garden. The moon is shining bright and they’re all excited to see more of Elyxion. Yifan, Luhan and Tao took the lead as they know the place like the back of their hands. The three wanted to show them a hidden waterfall in the forest connected to the garden. 

The 12 guardians continued walking while talking about random things, mostly asking the three about Elyxion. After a few minutes of trekking, the 12 guardians entered a meadow filled with dandelions and other small flowers with fireflies flying around. Upon seeing these, the group scattered and tried to catch some fireflies but let them go after a while. Junmyeon was watching all of them, glad to see his friends happy, wishing they can be like this every time. Sehun is staring at Junmyeon, admiring how he looked like an angel under the moonlight and surrounded by fireflies. He then used a little bit of his power to blow a few dandelions. They floated around Junmyeon and when the older sees this, he looked at Sehun and smiled at him, eyes turning like crescent moon, cheeks tinted pink. Sehun’s heart almost stop seeing his favorite smile. He quickly got his phone and capture the moment. It’s the most beautiful thing he have ever seen, right then, he realized that he’s in love with him. After taking a picture, he closed their distance and kissed Junmyeon full in the lips, surprising the older but then responded to his kiss. Before Sehun can start saying that he loves him, Baekhyun interrupted them. “Yah! Save that for later! Let’s go to the waterfall now.”, Baekhyun shouted at the two. Sehun sighed loudly. Looks like he has to find another time to say it. Junmyeon took his hand and they followed the group across the meadow.

In a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the waterfall. They all stared at the place in awe. It looks magical. Like in the meadow, the waterfall is surrounded with beautiful plants and fireflies are flying around, the bright moon reflected in the water. They spent a few minutes just standing by the edge, taking it all in. “Should we jump in?”, Jongdae dared them. “Rock, Paper, Scissors! Loser has to jump in first!”, Chanyeol suggested and the group agreed. They played a few rounds and at the end, Jongin lost but he has no complaints since he really wants to do it.

Jongin teleported at the top of the waterfall. “Are you sure you’re going to jump in from there?”, Kyungsoo shouted at the younger. Jongin smiled widely then jumped without hesitation. There was a big splash from below and a few seconds later, his head appeared, still smiling. “That was great! You guys should try it!”, he exclaimed. “Yifan-hyung, can you take me to the top?”, Chanyeol asked. “Sure, come on!”, Yifan agreed. He held Chanyeol by his waist and flew at the top of the waterfall. “Whooooh! I’ve always wanted to fly!”, Chanyeol shouted as Yifan took him. “I want to fly too! Me next! Me next!”, Jongdae shouted. Yifan laughed and went back to the group to grab Jongdae and flew back to the top of the waterfall. The two friends are now grinning widely. They decided to jump in together. “On the count of three. 1… 2… 3!”, Jongdae shouted but only Chanyeol jumped in. Jongdae laughed hard and when the group saw what happened, they joined the laughter. When Chanyeol rised up from the water he shouted at Jongdae. “You, cheater! Jump now! The water’s great and it’s not cold!”, Chanyeol shouted directly to Jongdae. The smaller jumped in afterwards earning a cheer from the group. After that, Yifan and Jongin helped the rest to get to the top of the waterfall so they can jump in as well. They are all now in the water playing games and pranks at each other.

Junmyeon was especially happy since he’s in his element. He did his trick from the bathroom last week. After a while, there are multiple drops of water in different shapes and sizes floating around them. Baekhyun even added floating lights around them. It was truly magical. “Can you make a dinosaur shape one?”, Jongdae requested. “I’ve always wanted to try to become a dinosaur!”, Yixing said. Junmyeon laughed but then created one. “Woah! That’s so cool!”, Jongdae exclaimed. The rest requested different animals after, from puppy, cat, bears, panda, sheep and penguin, a special request from Kyungsoo. The leader complied to their requests, unable to turn them down. “Junmyeon-hyung. Have you ever tried breathing underwater?”, Tao asked him. “Huh, I haven’t tried that one yet. Wait.”, Junmyeon answered then dive down the water. He calmed himself first then tried to breathe but then float back up coughing. The other swam by his side, worried. “I guess that’s not part of my power.”, Junmyeon said as he coughed. “Oh, I can!”, Sehun said after he made sure his boyfriend is okay. “I just tried it earlier when I jumped in. I made an air bubble around my head.”, the youngest added. “I want to try that too! Can you do it for others?”, Baekhyun asked. “Sure, let’s try. Are you guys ready?”, Sehun asked the group and they nodded in response. They all went underwater then Sehun produced air bubbles for each of them. They all giggled and swam freely underwater for a long time.

After their night swim, Junmyeon and Sehun helped the rest to dry up, Junmyeon gathering all the excess water from their clothes and Sehun blow drying all of them. They ended up dry but their hairs are all tangled up, sticking in different directions. They all laughed at each other’s appearance and tried their best to flatten their hair. After drying up, the group went back. “Do you guys want some ramyeon?”, Kyungsoo ask them. “Yes!”, Jongdae and Jongin said simultaneously. The others agreed as well as they felt hungry again after playing in the water. “Okay, I can cook for you guys. Just wait in the patio.”, Kyungsoo said. “I’ll help you cook Kyungsoo-ya”, Minseok volunteered. “I’ll go with you guys too.”, Chanyeol followed them. After a while, Minseok came back. “Luhan, can you help us bring all the ramyeon in here?”, the oldest ask. “Sure thing.”, Luhan replied and went to the kitchen. A little later, Luhan came back with bowls of ramyeon floating behind him. He placed them in the table carefully. The guardians gulped the ramyeon quickly thanking the three who cooked for them. After eating and cleaning up, they all went to their own rooms and went to bed and slept. It was a long satisfying day, and tomorrow, another full day of training awaits them.

The next morning, they woke up to the smell of breakfast downstairs. As they went down, they found Lumos with Kyungsoo preparing the table. The guardians are once again grateful to the original guardian and Kyungsoo for the food. The finished their meal together and clean up. They went back to their rooms to change for training then head straight to the training arena. The training arena is arranged differently today. Instead of a platform at the center, a maze is currently in its place. They wondered how the guardian was able to prepare this kind of venue for their training. The older guardian never fail to surprise them every time.

“Come in, my dears. I think you’ll love what I prepared for your training today.”, Lumos said, excited to show them her work of art. The boys came in looking at the maze scared. They’re not sure if they love it though. “For today, we’ll focus on how you fight on your own. Around the maze, you’ll find your symbols so go ahead to your designated area the I’ll explain what will you have to do next.”, Lumos instructed the guardians. The young guardians looked for their symbols and wait for further instructions nervously. “Uhm, I can’t find mine.”, Jongin said. “Mine too.”, Yifan added. “Oh, right. Sorry, you two will have a special role today. Since your powers will make it easy for you to escape the maze I made, you’ll play hostage and your friends need to save you. At the center of the maze, you’ll find a clear glass box, you should be able to fit in there.”, Lumos answered. The two boys looked at each other but followed Lumos’ instructions. They are now inside the clear glass box, just big enough for the two of them with a wide touch screen at one of the walls. “By the way, your powers won’t work in there.”, Lumos added.

“Okay then, now that you’re all in place. Let me explain the mechanics for this maze. Your goal is simple, you need to get to the center of the maze and get to Yifan and Jongin who will be your key to get out of the maze. Along the way, you’ll be facing your robot ‘friends’ from yesterday but take a note that they’re now upgraded, and I changed their weakness point.” Lumos explained. “Awaaeee! Not them agaaaain.”, Jongdae whined. “I wish I can just be a hostage too. They just need to wait.”, Sehun said. “Oh, they’re not going to just wait my dear. They have to figure out how will they get out of the box. They need to solve the puzzle I placed in there to open the lock before they drown.”. “What?!”, both of the hostage guardians yelled. “I’m not good at puzzles!”, Jongin whined. “That’s why you’re doing this. You need to improve your mental skill under pressure as well.”, Lumos countered. “On second thought, I’m good with just fighting.”, Sehun said. “Good luck Jongin-ah!”, Chanyeol shouted from his place. “Okay, any questions boys?”, Lumos asked lastly. When no one answered, Lumos continued, “Let’s begin then. To start, touch your symbols and you will be let in the maze. Once you enter, the maze will be sealed off.” The guardians nodded then touched their symbols on the outer wall of the maze. The wall opened and they entered cautiously and the walls closed immediately behind them as they stepped inside the maze.

At the center of the maze, the glass box is now being filled with water slowly and the touch screen for the lock turned on revealing a puzzle the two need to solve. They need 4 digits to open the lock and to get those digits they need to solve the logic puzzles. “Oh my god. Are we going to die in here?”, Jongin panicked as he saw the puzzles in the screen, not having an idea on how to solve them before they drown. “Calm down, Jongin-ah. We can do this, okay?”, Yifan said as he tried to calm himself as well.

**1st Puzzle:**   
2 8 9   
3 2 4   
3 6 ?   
What number should replace “?” 

**2nd Puzzle:**   
7 3 6 2   
2 8 5 4   
1 1 2 4   
4 2 1 ?   
What number should replace “?” 

**3rd Puzzle:**   
Exodus. Into my world. Growl. Heart Attack. Touch it. 

**4th Puzzle:**   
If five cats can catch five mice in five minutes, how long will it take one cat to catch one mouse? 

As soon as Baekhyun, entered the maze, he was surrounded by pitch black darkness. He conjured a ball of light and throw it in front of him as hard as he can. He saw a long straight path and at the end, there seems to be two openings. The ball of light disappeared so he created another one and let it float above him as he walks straight then he heard a low growl. The robot monster suddenly jumped in front of him from above. He dodged it and stepped back and aim his laser light at the monster’s head. He hit it and created a small hole at the forehead of the robot but it immediately fixed itself like it regenerated. He was shocked and didn’t expect that. The robot attacked him but he dodged it and run forward as fast as he can. “They’re regenerating! My laser light didn’t work! We have to find it’s weakness point!”, he shouted to the others as he continues to run.

“Shit, that’s not good.”, Chanyeol muttered to himself as he faced his own opponent, sweating. He’s been throwing fire balls at the robot but it seems to know how to read his moves and dodge it every time. “Oh! Come on! I’ve hit you several times already. How are you still alive?!”, Jongdae whined at the robot he’s currently fighting. His power doesn’t seem to work on the monster as well. On Junmyeon’s side, he currently trapped the robot inside a water sphere but can’t think of something to finish up the monster. “Come on, Junmyeon. Think! Think!”, he said to himself. His twin isn’t having any luck either. He tries to cover the robot with ice but the monster just melts it off. For now, all he can do is make ice walls as defense while he thinks of a way to destroy the robot.

Across the maze, the others are struggling as well. Yixing is almost out of arrows. Blasting the robot or shooting it with poison doesn’t work. “I need to find it’s weakness. But how?”, he thinks to himself while dodging the monster’s attacks. Near his location, someone is banging the robot on the ground. “I’m really getting pissed of you little shit! Die already!”, Sehun shouts, as he controls the wind to slam the robot multiple times as hard as he can but the robot’s armor is really strong and doesn’t even crack. Luhan is having the same trouble as Sehun. He tried to crumple the robot like a paper using his power but it doesn’t even bend. “What is wrong with these robot. Ugggh!”, Luhan said as he’s losing his patience.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo made a dome out of solid land and covered with vines with a small window just enough to see the robot. He is on defense mode, while thinking where the weakness of the robot is. “Where should we hit you? Come on, let me see your weakness.”, Kyungsoo said as he shoots vines after vines at the robot. Nearby, Tao is trying to catch the robot and stop it or even just slow it down. “How are you moving fast when you’re bigger than Yifan-ge and Chanyeol combined?!”, Tao said irritated.

While the 10 guardians are struggling with their own fights, the two hostages are making progress. “The answer is ‘8’, for the third puzzle. Look! All the capital letters spell out ‘e-i-g-h-t’”, Jongin said excite. They finally solved one. “You’re a genius!”, Yifan praised him. “The 4th puzzle, I think it’s 5. It’s like a trick question. See, 5x5=25 then divide it by 5 again. So, it must be 5 minutes. The 4th digit is 5.”, Yifan explained. “Wow! Hyung, I think we’re geniuses!”, Jongin said. “If only were good at math.”, Yifan said. The first two puzzles are harder for them to answer.

After running in circles, Baekhyun decided to turn off his ball of light for a while since he noticed that the robot responds to light but can’t hear him. He thought of a solution, he needs to immobilize the robot first. He needs to be quick. He conjured a small light that’s enough to attract the robot. When the robot appeared next to the light, he shot at its four legs, causing the robot to tumble upside down. Then he saw it, a small opening in its armpit. He immediately shot it without thinking. Then the robot shut down. “I did it! Their weakness is in their armpit! Guys! Shoot their armpit! Armpit!”, he shouted as loud as he can. Now he just needs to find his way to the center of the maze.

The others heard Baekhyun’s shouting. Not every word but they heard ‘armpit’. They sprang into action immediately. Chanyeol slide down to trip the robot with his foot then shoots at the armpit of the robot. Jongdae who lost his patience a long time ago, just kept shooting electric rays at the feet of the robot and as it turned over, he aimed at the armpit, finally defeating the robot. Junmyeon let the robot out of his water sphere, but positioned it upside down first and made a shape of a spear and threw it at the armpit of the robot, successfully shutting it down as well. Minseok, did the same thing, he trapped the robot inside a wall of ice and before it even melts, he stabbed it with an icicle.

Yixing shot an arrow for smoke screen, as the robot got confused, he slides down and used his dagger to slash through the robot’s armpits, shutting it down. Meanwhile, Tao successfully slowed down his opponent and manage to hit its armpit with his army knife that he keeps in his pocket. Sehun, conjured a shuriken made out of wind, something he saw in anime he watched and decided to copy it, and threw it directly at the armpit of the robot. After succeeding he run and tried to find his way towards the center of the maze. Kyungsoo, came out of his defensive dome and directed his vines to hold the four legs of the robot then aimed a sharp rock at the armpit. Luhan, who figured out that the armor of the robot is locked by its tail, unlocked it first and removed the armor, then twisted its legs damaging the armpit as well.

All the guardians have defeated their opponents and are running to go to the center but are struggling with directions, some just running in circle. Junmyeon blocked all the entries with water that led him to a dead end and eventually find his way to the center. “Guys, mark the entries the leads you to a dead end!”, Junmyeon shouted. Sehun heard Junmyeon, and followed his voice, the wind guiding him where to turn. Eventually Sehun found Junmyeon and hugged him. “Found you!”, he said as he hugged Junmyeon even tighter.

“Yah! Stop hugging! Help us out here. We solved two of the puzzles now. We can’t figure out the other two.”, Jongin yelled at the two. Junmyeon chuckled. “Okay, okay. Let me see the puzzle.”, Junmyeon said as they approach the glass box now filled with water reaching the chest of the two hostages. Junmyeon looked at the puzzle and recognized the pattern for the 2nd puzzle. “The second digit is 4.”, he answered quickly. The other three looked at him. “How did you solve that?”, Yifan asked looking confused. “The sum of each column is 14, so that last column has a sum of 10 already, so 4.”, Junmyeon explained. The other three looked at him impressed. He’s good with numbers. “There’s one puzzle left.”, Jongin said as the water rises to their neck. “Can’t you control the water first?”, Sehun asked Junmyeon panicking. “Our powers don’t work on this box.”, Yifan said as he tries to float. “Wait, the last digit is 1! Quickly! Type the code now!”, Junmyeon said. Yifan reached out to the screen and typed in 1-4-8-5 then the door at the top of the box opened. The two climbed out and hugged each other, both happy they didn’t drown.

“Why is it 1?”, Sehun asked Junmyeon. “Each row is a sqaure number, the first one is 17 squared then 18 squared. The last one is 19 sqaured which is equal to 361.”, Junmyeon explained again. “Nerd.”, Sehun said jokingly then kissed his cheeks. Junmyeon giggled at his action. The rest of the guardians reached them, Chanyeol and Baekhyun holding hands as they arrive. Chanyeol looked for Baekhyun first instead of going straight to the center. When he found him, he kissed him urgently, happy that his boyfriend is safe. The two kissed for a while then find their way to the center following Junmyeon’s suggestions.

When Kyungsoo arrived, Jongin run straight to him and hugged him while the shorter patted him in the back. “What? No hug for your brother? I almost died.”, Jongdae joked and Jongin just rolled his eyes knowing that’s not true as he heard his brother continuously zapping his opponent while cursing at it. Yixing noticed that Tao’s knee is bleeding. “Tao, what happened to your knees? Come here, l’ll heal it first.”. Everyone looked at Tao. “Oh, I just tripped when I was running. Hehe.”, Tao answered embarrassed rubbing his neck as he goes to Yixing. They all laughed but relieved that it was not serious. Yixing healed it quickly. Now all’s left is to leave the maze. Yifan and Jongin brought them out of the maze by twos and by the time they’re all out, the maze suddenly went down, like the earth is absorbing it. They completed their task. “Well done boys! I’m so proud of all of you! Looks like your training is paying off”, Lumos congratulated them.

They are all again, exhausted and hungry so Jongdae can’t help but ask the guardian, “Can we eat now?”. Lumos laughed and nodded. “Yes, my dear, let’s go have our lunch now.”. The guardians left the training arena and went to the patio to have their lunch. While eating, they all told their stories on how they beat their opponents, then teased each other again and laugh. The teasing never goes away. It’s always part of their conversations.

By the end of their meal, Lumos turned serious. She needs to tell them now while they still have time. “Now that we’ve eaten, I need to tell you boys something.”, Lumos said on a serious note. “What is it Lumos? Is there something wrong?”, Luhan asked, concerned. “Unfortunately, I believe so.”, Lumos answered. The guardians looked at Lumos concerned. “We don’t have much time left. The Red Force is already stirring again. It’s only a matter of days before one of them wakes up.”, Lumos continued. “What should we do?”, Minseok asked. “For now, just continue training. Get stronger. I’ll continue to scout out places that seems to be affected. I just want you boys to be ready, to be alert. Okay?”, Lumos said as she looked at each one of them. The guardians nodded, trying to hide their fears and doubts.

After their talk, they went back to training, this time, they focused on their combat skills. Yifan, Luhan and Tao led this training. They taught them all the moves they know first then proceed on pairing up and sparring. They all fought seriously, thinking of the upcoming battle that awaits them. They used their fear and doubts as motivation to push through their training. After a few hours, Lumos stopped them and let them rest earlier since they still have to go back to school tomorrow. The guardians all washed up and changed to more comfortable clothes. They ate their dinner silently this time as they still think of what Lumos said after lunch. When they were done eating, they all went back to their respective rooms.

“I’m scared.”, Sehun said while they’re lying-in bed, unable to sleep. Junmyeon brushed his hair with his fingers. “Me too. But we have to face this. We have each other, we have our friends. We won’t be alone.”, Junmyeon said, comforting both of them. Sehun looked up and kissed him gently. “I love you Junmyeon.”, he finally said as he looked deeply to the other’s eyes. Junmyeon smiled with tears forming in his eyes, “I love you too Sehun.”, he said back. They slowly close the gap between them and kissed again, longer this time, passionately with neither of them backing down. The kiss turned urgent as they move their lips against each other, hard. Junmyeon licked Sehun’s lips, asking for entrance. Sehun open his mouth immediately and let their tongues tangle together. They kissed like this for what feels like hours, both not wanting to stop. Junmyeon moaned again which sends shivers to Sehun’s body. Wanting more, Junmyeon break their kiss, pull himself up then sat over Sehun’s hips, then bend down to kiss him again. Sehun’s hand hold both of Junmyeon’s legs, gripping on tight which earned another moan from the older. Junmyeon’s hand traveled along Sehun’s body ending at the bottom of his shirt. He urged the younger to remove it, and Sehun complies, removing his shirt then removed Junmyeon’s shirt as well.

He stared at Junmyeon’s body for a while and the other blushes feeling Sehun’s eyes on him. After a few more seconds, Sehun grabbed Junmyeon by the back of the neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Their kiss turned fast and messy, bodies feeling hotter. Sehun bucked his hips causing Junmyeon to moan louder as their member rubbed each other. Both felt good and continued to grind on each other as they kiss. Their members grew harder and harder as they continue. Junmyeon then trailed kisses from Sehun’s lips to his jaw and to his neck. He focused on his neck and bites it then sucked it hard living a mark. Sehun moaned at this action which encouraged the older to add more marks from his neck to his chest. “Aaaah, Myeonnieee.” Sehun groaned. Junmyeon hands traveled downwards and palmed the now fully hard member of Sehun. “Oh my god, Sehun. You’re big”, he said as he traces his fingers over Sehun’s pants. “Can I?”, Junmyeon asked and the younger just nodded. Junmyeon moved down from his place and shoved Sehun’s pants and boxers down to his knees. Sehun’s big hard member sprang free. Junmyeon’s eyes widened and the younger chuckled at his cute reaction. Junmyeon then hold the base of Sehun’s member, pre-cum already spilling from the slit at the head. Junmyeon start pumping Sehun’s member and the younger moaned at the pleasure he’s feeling. Junmyeon’s hands felt perfect on his dick, so much better than his own. Junmyeon continued moving his hands up and down, adjusting his grip every once in a while. Not long after, Sehun mumbled, “I’m cumming Myeonnie.”, and his cum oozed from the head dripping in Junmyeon’s hand. Junmyeon move up and kissed Sehun. “Your turn.”, Sehun smiled and flipped them over. He removed Junmyeon’s pants and boxers all the way. He spreads the older’s leg to make room for himself in between. Once he positioned himself, he started pumping Junmyeon’s dick which caused the older to moan and writhed in his place. Sehun is addicted. He wants to see more of Junmyeon’s erotic reactions. He moved his hands faster and Junmyeon’s panting right now, still squirming at his place. After a few more pumps, he cummed without warning. Sehun smiled at the sight and moved to kiss his lover on the forehead and whispered, “I love you.” After their deed, they went to the bathroom to clean up then changed their bed sheets as well. After saying, I love you, once more, they cuddled and finally fell asleep.

The next morning, they all woke up early so they can eat breakfast first then prepare for school. “Lumos won’t be joining us for breakfast. She said she’s going to Exordium first with some of the scouts to look out for any other signs of the Red Force.”, Yifan informed the group as they sit in the patio for breakfast. The others just nodded, not knowing what to say. They ate their breakfast when Baekhyun speak up. “Yifan-hyung, do you know that our bedroom walls are thin?”, he asked innocently, casting a glance to both Junmyeon and Sehun. Yifan was confused but Junmyeon and Sehun flinched knowing where this is going. They realized that Baekhyun must have heard them last night. Chanyeol laughed out loud, understanding what’s happening while the rest are just staring at them confused. Sehun stared daggers at the two of them while Junmyeon blushed, bright red. “Why do you ask?”, Yifan asked. “Oh, just nothing, I’m just making an observation.”, Baekhyun said then winked at Sehun and Junmyeon’s direction. “What did you hear? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!”, Jongdae asked, having a feeling on what’s going on. Baekhyun and Chanyeol just laughed again but didn’t say anything, not wanting to anger their youngest or they might pay for it later.

After they finished their breakfast, they went to the portal and go to the school. What they didn’t expect is what’s waiting for them in their realm. When they appeared on their spot, it sounds really quiet, too quiet, which is unusual for a high school. They hurried to the main building and saw that the students are on the ground. They each checked on the students. “They’re breathing, they’re just unconscious.”, Yixing said. “It’s look like their sleeping. This one’s snoring.”, Minseok said. “What’s going on?”, Kyungsoo asked to no one in particular. They decided to split up and roam around the school to look if there’s anybody awake but found none. They all met back at the front of the main building and looked at each other. “What are we going to do now?”, Jongin asked but no one has an answer.


	7. Drop That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It's useless to sit still, let's head towards that direction  
> The world spins as we grasp power in our hands  
> Grieving, taking the leap in front of me  
> At this instant, the sun burns brighter than ever in the sky, Burn!
> 
> Now raise your hands up, raise them higher  
> Now raise your hands up, raise them higher  
> Now raise your hands up, raise them higher  
> One Two Three  
> EXO DROP THAT!”

# Drop That

The new guardians are lost. They don’t know what happened and don’t know what to do next but they have a gut feeling that this is because of the Red Force. They are currently at their spot near the portal to Elyxion. It’s been an hour and they’re still thinking of their options. “I think we should go back to Elyxion first and try to contact Lumos. Do you guys know how we can contact her?”, Junmyeon asked Yifan, Luhan and Tao. “Yeah, does she have a phone? Maybe we can call her?”, Jongdae added. The three shooked their heads. “No, she doesn’t have one.”, Yifan answered. “She’s always the one who contact us. She sends like a video message via those light screens thingy.”, Tao added. After Tao mentioned the light screen thingy, they all looked at Baekhyun. The light guardian turned to look at them, “I haven’t even tried that yet. I don’t know how and even if I know how to do that, I don’t know where to send it. We don’t know where she is, remember?”, Baekhyun ranted. “I still think we should need to go back to Elyxion first. Maybe we can get answers from there.”, Junmyeon said to the group. “Okay, I think you’re right. Let’s go back for now.”, Minseok agreed with his twin.

They all went back to Elyxion, and once they arrived, they split into groups to look for clues or anything that can help them figure out what’s going on. Luhan and Minseok went to Lumos’ room to check if she left anything that can tell them anything about the Red Force stirring. The rest went to the library to look for more information on the Red Force and Exo’luxion. Baekhyun tried to look for books that may help him learn how to communicate with Lumos. Tao led Jongin and Sehun to get books about the demons, monsters and other dark creatures from Exo’luxion. They will be needing all the information they can get to fight them. It’s too bad they haven’t reached this part of their training yet. They might be more prepared than they are now.

They all gathered in a long table at the middle of the library with different books open and scattered. A few moments later, Minseok and Luhan came in. “Guys we found something in Lumos’ room.”, Minseok said as he approached the group. “She has notes of the scouting she did in Exordium these past few days.”, Luhan added as he showed them the notebook they found. They all turned their attention to the two. “I don’t understand some parts but it described some signs of the effects of one of the Red Force’s power and looked at what she encircled at the bottom. ‘Hypnokinesis’ then it’s pointed at ‘SM High basement’.”, Luhan shared. “Hold on, Hypnokinesis. I think I read this in one of these books. Where is it?”, Chanyeol said as he rummaged through the books on the table. “Here it is. It’s one of the powers of Ypnos who’s one of the Red Force. So, does that mean he’s responsible for what happened in our school?”, Chanyeol asked.

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. One of the powers? Meaning he has more than 1 power?”, Jongdae asked the tall guardian. “Oh. Yes, it says here he also has Levitation and Telepathy.”, Chanyeol informed them. “Oh, that’s just great! We’re doomed.”, Jongdae said sarcastically. “Shut up Jongdae, we don’t know that yet. There’s twelve of us here. I think we can take him”, Minseok said confidently.

“Okay, okay. So, we know who it is now. We need to figure out where is he.”, Junmyeon said as he brought back the conversation to their problem. “Maybe he’s still at our school?”, Jongin suggested. “We should check the basement, maybe we can get some clues from there.”, Kyungsoo added. “I think Kyungsoo’s right.”, Yifan said. “But we need to plan it out first, we can’t just go there without an idea on how to face Ypnos.”, Junmyeon said. “Is there anything written on the book about Ypnos’ weaknesses?”, Yixing asked. “Hmm. It just says here that his power works like an air wave and he’s basically slow.”, Chanyeol summarized. “We can work on that. I think Yifan, Sehun and Jongdae will be our best shot against him.”, Junmyeon think out loud. “Hell yeah! Let’s do this!”, Jongdae exclaimed. “Just earlier you said we’re doomed and now you’re pumped up to fight?”, his brother told him and he just shrugged back. The others chuckled, fear slowly subsiding as they plan on what to do next.

“Will it just be him? I mean what about the demons and monsters?”, Tao asked. They all paused for a while and deflated. They forgot about the monsters. “At least we have some training in fighting the monsters, right?”, Baekhyun said trying to be positive. “Maybe we should split up? 1 group will check the basement and the rest will check the school grounds for any sign of the monsters.”, Sehun suggested. “That’s not a bad idea Sehunnie.”, Minseok said. “Okay, I think maybe Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Jongin should go to the basement. Jongin can teleport you guys out immediately if something bad happens.”, Junmyeon suggested and the rest nodded thinking it made sense. Kyungsoo is best for defense especially underground, Jongdae for offense and Jongin for quick escape when things get bad.

“Yifan, check the perimeter around the school for any signs of monsters and see if there are others outside our school affected by Ypnos’ powers. Luhan, Sehunnie and Yixing bring the students inside the classrooms and make sure they’re safe and none of them were harmed. Then the rest will check the school grounds for monsters and also try to find if Lumos is in there. Understood?”, Junmyeon asked after he laid out the plan.

“Sounds like a plan to me. But one more thing though. What are we going to do when we find Ypnos? I know we have to fight him but are we supposed to kill him?”, Minseok asked. “I don’t think we can kill him. Maybe knock him out and take him as prisoner or something?”, Luhan answered. “Where are we going to keep him then?”, Yixing asked. “How about that glass box from our training yesterday? Our powers don’t work in that thing, right? Maybe that’s the same for him.”, Jongin suggested. “Nice thinking Jongin-ah. Maybe that training actually did work on you.”, Baekhyun teased. “Hey!”, Jongin-ah protested and pouted. “Okay. That’s good enough I think. We can ask Lumos what to do next when we find her. But once he’s unconscious, Jongin-ah, teleport him to the training room and put him in that glass box. Kyungsoo, I think you should go with him just in case. Okay?”, Junmyeon finalized and the two nodded in agreement. “Let’s go!”, Jongdae yelled.

“Wait! Maybe we should change out of our uniforms first? I don’t want to ruin it and it’s not comfortable to fight wearing this.”, Baekhyun said as he looked down at his uniform. “Oh, right! Lumos prepare for that one already. Come on, follow me!”, Luhan said as he run towards the hallway. They went into one of the rooms they haven’t explored yet. When they entered, they saw 12 outfits on display. The outfits consist of stretchable black cargo pants matched with black fitted long sleeve shirts and combat boots. The only difference is the pin with their power symbol placed on the right chest pocket of the military-styled vests. There are also headsets that comes with small, wireless adapter that plugs into a radio communication device placed in a table at the center of the room. They quickly changed into the displayed clothes. Yixing got his bow and arrows, as well as his two daggers now sheath in his legs. “Wow Yixing-hyung! You look bad-ass!”, Baekhyun praised the older and high-fived him. “Damn, I look cool in this!”, Yifan said as he praised himself while looking at one of the wall mirrors in the room. “I think I look better though.”, Tao argued while fixing his hair. Luhan rolled his eyes on the two and the rest chuckled. After a few more minutes of preparing and testing of their communication devices, they all went back to the dome room and then back to their realm.

“Alright everyone, you know the plan. Let’s go!”, Junmyeon motioned to the group. “Please be careful. All of you!”, he added. As they planned, Yifan immediately flew around the perimeter of their school while Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Jongin went straight down to the basement while looking out for monsters. Luhan and Sehun used their powers to lift and place the students, teachers and staff inside the classrooms while Yixing checked for any injuries. The rest are scattered around the school looking for Lumos and as well as monsters. Tao went to the gym, Baekhyun to the cafeteria and Junmyeon to the library while Chanyeol and Minseok divided the floors so they can scan the hallways and rooms faster.

“There’s no sign of monsters in the perimeter but something’s weird.”, Yifan said on their radio. “It looks like outside the school, the people are moving in super slow motion and it’s like they’re avoiding our school.”, he added his observation. “Okay Yifan, just stay on a look out for now, we never know when and where the monsters will attack.”, Minseok replied. “Copy that.” Yifan said and flew around the perimeter one more time.

“Guys, we found Lumos! B-but she’s unconscious.”, Jongin said in the radio with slight panic in his voice. “We need you here Yixing-hyung!”, Jongdae added worriedly. “Okay, I’m coming!”, Yixing responded and ran to the basement immediately. When Yixing arrived, he saw Lumos lying on the ground, head on Kyungsoo’s lap. “We can’t wake her up.”, Kyungsoo said. Yixing went to their side and check on Lumos and hover his hands over Lumos’ head. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just sleeping.”, Yixing said confused. “What are we going to do with her?”, Jongdae asked. “Jongin-ah, bring her to Elyxion. Look for the medic in the clinic. They can take care of her for now.”, Luhan said thru the radio. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”, Jongin said as he carries Lumos and teleported.

“There’s no sign of monsters in the gym.”, Tao reported. “Same here in the cafeteria.”, Baekhyun added. “I’m with Junmyeon-hyung and Minseok-hyung now. We didn’t find anything either.”, Chanyeol said. “Guys I think you should head down here. We found something.”, Kyungsoo said. “I think it’s a portal”, Yixing said. The rest of the guardians quickly went down the basement and as they arrived, Jongin popped in again. “She’s with the medic now, they’ll try to wake her up and let us know.”, Jongin reported back.

“Look at this.”, Yixing pointed at the wall showing a symbol. It’s a circle with a slash over it. “Should we touch it? It could lead us to Ypnos.”, Chanyeol asked. “And the monsters.”, Tao added, voice low but heard by everyone. They all stay silent for a while thinking if they should go or wait for Lumos to wake up. “I think we should go.”, Junmyeon said to all of them. “Ypnos will be the answer to what’s happening around. I think he’s the key to wake everyone up. But I don’t want to force you all.”, he added. “No, Junmyeon. You’re not. We’re all thinking the same.”, Minseok said. “We got each other’s back, remember?”, Yixing said and the rest nodded. Sehun held his hand and said, “Let’s go.”.

They all simultaneously touched the symbol and when they opened their eyes, they were standing on a metallic platform but instead of walls there’s only darkness around them. They formed a circle, backs at each other, preparing from what’s coming. “Someone’s here. I can hear him.”, Sehun said to the group. “How far?”, Kyungsoo asked. “J-just a few feet away.”, Sehun answered nervously as he hears him coming towards them. “Be ready.”, Yifan said as he flew hovering over his friends. They wait, hands ready to defend. “There’s more coming. I think they’re monsters.”, Sehun said again. “Shit! How many?”, Chanyeol asked this time. “Too many.”, Sehun whispered, losing his voice. Junmyeon hold his hand, letting him know he’s right beside him.

“Hello children. I believe we haven’t met yet.”, a cloaked man says as he walks towards them slowly. The guardians looked at him ready to make a move. “Calm down children.”, he said lazily then chuckles. He walked closer and the guardians shifted backwards. “I supposed you’re the new guardians since we destroyed the previous ones?”, he said as she shows his smile that send shivers to the young guardians. There’s something evil and ruthless with the cloaked man’s smile and they didn’t like it one bit. “Well, what do you expect? We knock on your front door and introduce ourselves?”, Baekhyun said rolling his eyes. “Hmm. Snarky. I like it.”, Ypnos said then laughed out loud. His laugh sends another shiver to their body. They never heard such a scary laugh ever. “Baek, don’t make him laugh. It’s creepy!”, Jongdae said to his friend. “What do you want? Why are you doing this?”, Junmyeon bravely asked the cloaked man. “Nothing much. I was just bored and I just thought I could make your school a playground for my… ‘pets’.”, the cloak man answered. Suddenly different monsters appeared from the darkness, surrounding them, snarling. They’re outnumbered. “Shit. How do you guys want to do this?”, Yifan asked them in a low voice. “You know, I can read your minds, right? So, what’s the sense of forming a battle plan… Suho.”, Ypnos said directly to Junmyeon. The guardians were shocked, they momentarily forgot the other powers of Ypnos. “We’re in deep shit, aren’t we?”, Jongdae sighed.

“Guys, do you remember the first song we sang together at the karaoke on our first day, that’s really a good song.”, Minseok suddenly asked out of the blue. The guardians turned to him confused even Ypnos was confused at the random question. “What are you talking about Minseok-hyung? I don’t think it’s the right time for that.”, Sehun said. “No, no. Hyung is right. Guys just remember what we planned, alright? Yifan, Jongdae and Sehunnie. You know what to do.”, Junmyeon reminded them. “Everyone sing in your heads and let your body do the fighting.”, Junmyeon explained after getting what his twin is trying to say. The others nodded understanding now. “NOW!”, Junmyeon shouted.

Multiple things happened at the same time after Junmyeon signaled them to attack. Firstly, they started singing in their heads with different songs to confuse Ypnos and avoid him from reading their minds as they attack. Yifan, Sehunnie and Jongdae used their speed to fight Ypnos while the rest tried to fight the monsters around them. Ypnos floated above ground as he fight but he doesn’t have speed, the book was right. And since their blocking their heads, Ypnos’ telepathy doesn’t really work on them anymore. Only thing left is to avoid being hit by his hypnokinetic power which is hard for them since they can’t actually see it. The best thing they can do is rely on Sehun since he can sense it so he just shouts out the direction. Yifan is up flying and attacking Ypnos by throwing kunai at him but Ypnos, although slower than them still manage to dodge it. “Hyung! Where did you get that? I want one too!”, Jongdae whined as he throws in electric blasts one after another at Ypnos, carefully avoiding hitting his friends. Sehun focused on sensing the attacks of Ypnos and use the wind to redirect the wave which is actually effective and hit one of the monsters.

Around them, the other guardians are fighting multiple monsters at once almost dominating them but they remembered their training. They use their powers and tries to find their weaknesses. Tao is successfully slowing down as many monsters as he can while Yixing shoot arrows at them or slash them with his dagger. Baekhyun is shooting laser lights randomly aiming at different parts of the monsters. Junmyeon trapped some monsters in his water sphere, letting them drown while Minseok freezes the monsters and shooting them with sharp icicles. Chanyeol is shooting flame throwers from his hands while laughing like a maniac. Luhan is banging two to three monsters against each other, knocking them out. Kyungsoo opens up the ground and trap monsters beneath it, luckily, they don’t seem to rise up from the ground unlike the robots in their training. Jongin keeps watch of the other guardians, teleporting them around to where they are needed or to move them out of the way and occasionally bring targets for Yixing or Baekhyun. They are all fighting well considering that they are greatly outnumbered but still, monsters keep coming in, giving them no time to rest. They’re slowly getting tired. “Jongdae, we need to knock Ypnos out or the monsters will just keep on coming. We will be overrun any minute now.”, Minseok shouted. “We’re trying!”, Jongdae shouted back. 

“Yifan-hyung, watch out! To your right!”, Sehun shouted but it was too late, Yifan was hit and fell down but luckily enough, Sehun caught him, avoiding more injuries. “Jongin-ah! Get Yifan-hyung!”, Jongdae shouted at his brother while he prevents Ypnos from getting to Sehun. Jongdae is getting angrier by the minute which causes his attacks to be more powerful. He felt a sudden surge of power inside him then he yelled again. “Sehun! Trap him! Don’t make him move and stay away as far as you can!”. Sehun followed Jongdae’s instructions. He conjured a small but powerful tornado, trapping Ypnos at the center. “You brat! Let me out of here!”, Ypnos yelled at Sehun. “Hehe. And why would I do that?”, Sehun rebutted. Smiling smugly at him, thinking of all the curse words he knows so Ypnos can read them. When Jongdae saw Ypnos trapped, he closed his eyes and gather all the strength he has. “Everyone, try to stay away as far as you can,” he shouted as he raised his hands, calling the lightning and a few moments later the lightning striked directly at Ypnos as Jongdae, brought his hands down. Sehun stopped his mini tornado and Ypnos fell on the ground, unconscious and barely alive.

“Jongin-ah, now!”, Junmyeon shouted at the younger when he saw Ypnos on the ground. Jongin-ah immediately popped in beside Ypnos, hold him and teleported to the training arena in Elyxion. He locked him in the glass box then went back to his friends. The monsters already stopped coming in and the rest of the guardians are finishing up the remaining monsters. Yixing is in the corner with Yifan trying to heal him. He healed his wounds but can’t wake him up like Lumos. “We should bring him back to Elyxion first.”, Junmyeon said. “Jongin-ah can you please bring him straight to the clinic?”, Luhan said at the younger. Jongin nodded. “I’ll go with you.”, Yixing said and they teleported with Yifan.

“Now what?”, Baekhyun asked. “We need to interrogate Ypnos. I know he’s the key for Lumos and Yifan to wake up as well as all the people in our school.”, Junmyeon answered. “Did you see what I did? I summoned a freaking lightning!”, Jongdae asked his friends excitedly. “We all did. That was really impressive!”, Minseok praised him. “You also did great Sehunnie! That was some tornado.”, Junmyeon said to him, proud at his boyfriend. “You two are a deadly combo!”, Chanyeol exclaimed. “Team up with me next Sehunnie! We can make a fire tornado!”, Chanyeol added imagining what they can do together. “Uhm, no thanks. I don’t want to kill our friends.”, Sehun replied and they all laughed weakly.

Their first battle is finally done, sadly with one casualty but they’re still glad no one was badly hurt. They all went back to Elyxion and went straight to the clinic to check on Lumos and Yifan. They asked the medics of their condition. “They’re vitals are normal and nothing else seems wrong aside from we can’t wake them up.”, one of the medic said to them. To get some answers, they went to the training arena next to check on Ypnos but the man is still unconscious and looks like will stay like that for a while. The lightning that stroked him is no joke after all.

“That freaking shit! I wish I can burn him alive.”, Chanyeol said angrily. “Can I blind him when wakes up?”, Baekhyun said, following Chanyeol’s train of thought. “Or I can break his bones.”, Luhan added. They all chimed in with different ways of torture they can think of using their powers. But it’s all talk, they don’t have the heart to torture the man even though he’s evil. That’s what makes them true guardians. They all went to their rooms to clean up and change their clothes then met back at the patio. They missed lunch so they’re now having an early dinner care of Kyungsoo. To relieve stress, he made some kimchi spaghetti, one of his specialties. In just a few minutes, the guardians devoured all of the food, feeling hungry because of all the fighting they did earlier. Once done eating, they checked on Lumos and Yifan again, but there’s still no progress. They went back to Ypnos as well, but he’s still unconscious. With no luck, they all just decided to call it a day and finally rest.

“Babe, you still awake?”, Chanyeol asked Baekhyun who’s currently lying on his chest. “Aha. I can’t sleep. When I close my eyes, I can only see those stupid monsters.”, Baekhyun replied. “Me too. And Ypnos’ evil laugh, I can’t get it out of my head. It’s really creepy.”, Chanyeol said. “Will you sing for me babe?”, he requested. For a while, they were both silent but then Baekhyun started to sing.

_nae nargeun gitareul deureo haji mothan gobaegeul  
hogeun gojipseuresamkin iyagireul  
norae hana mandeun cheok jigeum malharyeo haeyo  
geunyang deureoyo I’ll sing for you  
  
neomu saranghajiman saranghanda mal an hae  
eosaekhae jajonsim heorak an hae  
oneureun yonggi naeseo na malhal tejiman  
musimhi deureoyo I’ll sing for you  
  
The way you cry, the way you smile  
naege eolmana keun uimiin geolkka?  
hagopeun mal, nohchyeobeorin mal  
gobaekhal tejiman geunyang deureoyo  
I’ll sing for you, sing for you  
geunyang hanbeon deutgo useoyo  
_

“Are you still there?”, Baekhyun asked as he looked up at his boyfriend but Chanyeol immediately captured his lips. He kissed Baekhyun, pouring all his feelings for him and Baekhyun responded back eagerly. After a while, Baekhyun open his mouth to give Chanyeol access and the taller boy didn’t waste time and slip his tongue inside his mouth. Their tongues tangled together for a while then Chanyeol begun to suck Baekhyun’s tongue earning a moan from the smaller boy. Things got pretty hot from there, Chanyeol removed his shirt then Baekhyun’s. He pinned the smaller down their bed hold his hands above his head and kissed the nape of neck, devouring it. “Mmmmh, Chanyeollie, more.”, Baekhyun moaned which encourage Chanyeol to bite his skin and suck it making Baekhyun writhed and moan loudly. “Ssshh. Quiet, babe. I want to hear your moans but the walls are thin remember?”, Chanyeol said chuckling. “I don’t care. I want more.” Baekhyun replied, impatient. Chanyeol immediately removed both of their pants and underwears after hearing Baekhyun’s words. He’s now lying on top of Baekhyun and kissing him deeply as he grinds both of their member together. Baekhyun is a mess at this point, loudly moaning and squirming under Chanyeol. Chanyeol then hold both of their dicks in one hand and pump it together while sucking on one of Baekhyun’s nipples. “Mmmmh, Chanyeolliee!”, Baekhyun moaned lourdly again. Not long after, they both cum together, feeling light headed. After a while, Chanyeol sat up and went to the bathroom to clean himself up then get a wet towel for Baekhyun. After cleaning him up, he placed him over his chest again. “I love you.”, Baekhyun said as he wraps his arms over Chanyeol’s torso. “I love you too, babe.” Chanyeol replied and kissed him at the top of his head. They cuddled and finally fell asleep, forgetting the terror they faced earlier that day.

The next morning, they all checked on Lumos and Yifan before having breakfast. The two are still sleeping peacefully and no sign of waking up. They gathered in the patio again and have their breakfast. “You’re right Baekhyun-hyun by the way.”, Sehun said to the older. Baekhyun looked at him confused. “I know I’m always right but what about this time?”, Baekhyun asked. “The walls are really thin.”, Sehun said smugly. Baekhyun blushed instantly and Chanyeol coughed out what he was eating to Jongdae’s face. Sehun laughed out loud and the rest looked at them curiously. “Not so sassy now, are we?”, Sehun said then continued laughing with Junmyeon chuckling beside him, his head down, not wanting to embarrass Baekhyun and Chanyeol. “What the hell dude?!”, Jongdae screamed at Chanyeol. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”, Chanyeol apologized to his friend. Baekhyun was speechless for the first time and just continued to eat not minding Sehun’s non-stop laughing. The others just continued with their breakfast not wanting to get involved.

After they ate their breakfast, they went to the training room and saw that Ypnos is now awake and slamming the glass door angrily. “Let me out of here you mortal rascals!”, Ypnos shouted as he saw the guardians approach him. “Do you think we’re stupid? Why would we free you?”, Tao shouted back at him. “Tell us how to wake them up!”, Chanyeol demanded him. “And why would I tell you that? You’d just kill me after, so I don’t think so.”, he replied. “Because we’re not like you! We’re not rotten to the core.”, Luhan said. “Speaking of rotten, we can let you rot in here if that’s what you prefer?”, Baekhyun added smiling sweetly at him. “You imbecile children! You’ll pay for this. My brothers will destroy you!”, Ypnos shouted again. “You’re brothers? Ha! Are you sure it’s us who needs to worry? You were awake for quite some time and you didn’t helped them. Now what do you think they will do to you?”, Junmyeon reasoned. Ypnos’ eyes widen as he realized his mistake. He will not live if his brothers found out. “Okay. Okay. You won. I’ll give you the antidote if you promise to keep me safe.”, Ypnos bargained. “Hmmm. We will IF the antidote works.”, Minseok said staring at Ypnos in the eyes. “Now hand it over before I strike you again with lightning.”, Jongdae threatened. Ypnos eyes trembled, remembering what happened the day before. He slipped a scrolled paper in the slot at the top of the glass box and Kyungsoo gets it. He checks the paper and see instructions on how to make the antidote and nodded. “I’ll hand this over to the medic team.”, Kyungsoo said. “I’ll go with you.”, Yixing said. “Me too!”, Jongin followed the two.

“I gave you what you want. You better hold on to your promise.”, Ypnos said to them but the guardians are now walking away. Sehun looked back and stick his tongue out at Ypnos. “You brat!”, they heard him shout as they walk out the door and closed it.

### To be continued...


	8. We Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t worry, no matter what is  
> It's doesn't matter, where you are  
> Throw away the temporal things  
> You can cover your ears for a bit
> 
> So we don’t stay down  
> Cause we young  
> Cause we young  
> Cause we young”

# We Young

As soon as Kyungsoo, Yixing and Jongin gave the formula of the antidote to the medics, they immediately gathered all the ingredients needed and worked on the complicated antidote. Unfortunately, the antidote won’t be ready for days, as it needed to be brewed for a specific number of hours or in this case, days. The other guardians are restless but they can’t do anything else than to just wait for the antidote to be completed.

Chanyeol, Jongdae, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo divert their attention to more training. They try to focus on creating more techniques, testing their limits and improve their moves. On the other hand, Jongin asked Luhan and Tao to teach him how to combat and use weapons as well. He realized during their fight with Ypnos and his minions that he can do more, that he has to do more. Luhan and Tao agreed so they had their own training sessions together with Yixing. Minseok, Junmyeon and Sehun spent their time in the library trying to find more information about the Red Force and possible monsters they might encounter. They need to plan ahead to avoid more casualties. They don’t want their friends to get hurt just because they didn’t know any better. All of them made use of their time to improve, to learn and to prepare. They can’t afford to just sit wait until their next fight.

After a few days, the antidote is still not ready and Tao is getting more and more worried about Lumos and Yifan. Ever since he was young, Yifan and Luhan took care of him and when they were adopted, Lumos stood as their mom. Now that they’re both unconscious, he’s mind is going crazy. One night, he decided to go out since he can’t sleep again without Yifan in the room. He hasn’t got enough sleep ever since they returned from Exo’luxion but he’s afraid to tell his friends, he doesn’t want to burden them. Junmyeon who woke up in the middle of the night to get some water from the kitchen, saw Tao headed outside. “Tao? Where are you going? It’s late already. Shouldn’t you be on your bed sleeping?”, he said as he caught up with Tao. “I-I can’t sleep.”, he whispered. Junmyeon saw his eyes and nose are red and puffy like he’s been crying. “Come here.”, he said as he pulled Tao into a hug and the younger cried.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here.”, he whispered to Tao as he hugged him tighter and placed his hand at Tao’s back, comforting him. Tao cried more, unable to stop, releasing all his worries and fear as he cried on Junmyeon’s shoulders. After a while, Tao calmed down. They sat side by side under one of the trees in the garden, Tao’s head resting on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Do you want to tell me why you were crying?”, Junmyeon asked him as he noticed that he already stopped crying. Tao sniffled but then answered in a low voice, “I’m scared. I feel guilty that I wasn’t able to help Yifan-ge and Lumos. I don’t know what to do. I can’t lose them. They’re my family.”. “The antidote is going to work. We just have to be patient and you don’t have to feel guilty. You’ve done nothing wrong, it’s Ypnos’ fault not yours! Yifan and Lumos won’t like it if you beat yourself because of what happened to them and besides, we’re here. We’re your family now too.”, Junmyeon said, erasing all his doubts. Tao relaxed after hearing those words. “Thank you, hyung”, Tao said and smiled at him and Junymeon smiled back then hugged him again.

The next day, they continued their training again. ChanBaek, Jongdae and Kyungsoo training in the arena while they guard Ypnos, just in case he decided to try something funny and escape. Luhan, Tao, Yixing and Jongin are still sparring in the armory. The twins and Sehun are in the library again, researching but unlike the previous days, Sehun is keeping his distance. Junmyeon was trying to stay close to him while reading but the younger always moved away, saying that he’s going to look for other books. Minseok noticed this and can’t help but ask his twin, “Is everything alright with you two? I noticed that he’s not clinging to you like he usually does.”. “I don’t know, hyung. I’ve been trying to talk to him since this morning but he’s been avoiding me. I don’t know why.”, he answered teary eyed. “What if he grew tired of me already?”, he added, voicing out his fear. “Hmmm, I don’t think so Myeonnie. I can still see him glanced at you every now and then. Just try to talk to him again while I check on the others, okay?”, Minseok said and left the library to give them some space.

Junmyeon looked for Sehun and found him at the spot where they confessed to each other. Sehun knew Junmyeon is approaching him but he just stared outside the window, ignoring him. “Sehunnie, did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?”, Junmyeon asked with a small voice and trying to keep some distance between them. Sehun looked at him with his eyebrows meeting at the center and he finally decided to talk. “I saw you with Tao last night in the garden.”, he stated simply. Junmyeon was confused. “I saw you hugging him.”, Sehun added keeping a straight face. Junmyeon smiled a little. “Are you ignoring me because you’re jealous?”, Junmyeon asked. Sehun looked back at the window not answering. Junmyeon thought Sehun is cute when jealous so without hesitating anymore, he walked and hugged him from behind then put his head over Sehun’s, something he can only do because Sehun is still sitting. “I was just comforting him Sehunnie. He’s still young and he’s feeling distressed because of Yifan and Lumos. They’re his family, you know? He hasn’t been sleeping lately and he’s been bottling up his feelings. So, when I saw him last night, I went to him and talked with him for a while.”, Junmyeon explained. Sehun turned looked up at him. “You didn’t cheat on me?”, Sehun asked, tears threatening to fall. Junmyeon smiled at him and then pecked him in his lips. “Of course not! He’s just a younger brother to me like everyone else but you, Sehunnie, I love you.”, he reassured him. Sehun stayed still for a while, thinking then he said “I love you too” and kissed Junmyeon. “So, are we good? You won’t avoid me anymore?”, Junmyeon asked while hugging Sehun and the younger just nodded and hugged him even tighter. They stayed like that for a while and then went back to the table at the center of the library. By the time Minseok came back, Sehun is already clinging to Junmyeon again and giggling at his side. “Looks like you two are good now.”, Minseok said smiling at the two.

The next day, they were all awaken by Tao who’s shouting outside their rooms and knocking at their doors. “Guys! The antidote is ready! Come on!”, he shouted. Yixing is the first to head out, he’s been waiting for the antidote as well. For days, he’s thinking that maybe he can absorb the antidote’s effect and use it for the future. He discussed this with the medics and they believed that it’s possible. They all quickly head down to the clinic lead by Tao and Yixing. When they entered the clinic, they saw Lumos and Yifan already up and sitting on their bed. Tao immediately run and hug Yifan. “Woah, easy there, I just woke up.”, Yifan said chuckling at the younger. The rest also came in and group hugged both Lumos and Yifan. “What happened? Where is Ypnos?”, Lumos asked them. “I think we should head out first in the patio and let you have some fresh air and we’ll fill you guys in.”, Junmyeon said to the two.

“Hold on, I like to try something.”, Yixing said then looked at the medic. The medic understood and gave him the remaining antidote. Yixing held the antidote and closed his eyes, he concentrated on the essence of the antidote and felt it move to his hand and spread out his body. He opened his eyes and saw his body glowing. “I think it worked. I need to try it out.”, Yixing said. “Okay, why don’t you guys go with Yixing back in our realm and wake everyone up. I’ll stay with Lumos and Yifan for now and fill them in.”, Junmyeon suggested. “Can I stay too?”, Tao asked. Junmyeon smiled and nodded, knowing the younger is anxious and want to stay with Yifan and Lumos. Sehun approached Junmyeon and kissed him in the forehead, “I’ll be back soon.”, he said. “Be careful, okay?”, Junmyeon replied and Sehun nodded.

The nine guardians went to Exordium lead by Yixing. They went to the main building and Yixing entered the first room with students while he asked the rest spread across the building to check if there are any signs of monsters. Jongdae, Jongin and Kyungsoo went back down to the basement and guard the portal as well just in case someone or something will come out of Exo’luxion. Yixing stood in front of the classroom and closed his eyes. He focused on the essence of the antidote he felt in his body and push them out and slowly, one by one, the students begun to stir. Yixing smiled proudly at his accomplishment. He then proceeds to the other classrooms and did the same. The students and teachers don’t seem to have any recollection of what happened. They were all confused but decided to let the students to go home first. Before going back to Elyxion, Kyungsoo sealed the basement by putting a big rock behind the door so no one can go in. “We need to ask Lumos on how we can seal the portal.”, Jongin said as they head back to Elyxion.

By the time the nine guardians came back, Lumos and Yifan are already aware of what happened. They found them in the training arena, Lumos talking to Ypnos. “Tell me where are the other portals.”, Lumos demanded Ypnos while Yifan is glaring hard at the cloaked man, he badly wants to strangle him after what he has done to them but is held by Tao. The guardians stood behind Lumos letting her do the talking. Ypnos just stayed leaning at the back wall of the glass box while looking at his fingernails, looking bored and not paying attention at the guardians in front of him, pretending he doesn’t see or hear them. “Should I strike you with lightning again? Maybe that’ll get your attention?”, Jongdae threatened him. Ypnos then glared at Jongdae, this threat always works which made Jongdae smile smugly back at him. “I don’t know where the other portals are. I didn’t make them. I only know of the one in the High scool.”, he finally answered. 

“How did you wake up and escaped? As far as I know, you were sealed off.”, Lumos asked again. Ypnos smiled his evil smile which sends shiver to the young guardians’ spines again. “I can travel through my dreams. I can enter the dreams of my monsters in our realm. Well, actually their nightmares, they don’t have good dreams. Anyway, I just instructed some of them and freed me. Took them long enough though, those monsters are idiots. I don’t know why I got those idiot monsters and my brothers have the better ones.”, Ypnos explained and complained at the same time. “Maybe because you’re an idiot too.”, Sehun said simply and his friends laughed. Ypnos glared at him and Sehun stick his tongue out at the monster again and moved behind Junmyeon. “Brat!”, Ypnos muttered under his breath.

After Lumos’ interrogation with Ypnos, they all gathered in the dome room again. “You boys need to go back to Exordium for now. You’ve been away for days already.”, Lumos said. “What about Ypnos? What will happen to him?”, Minseok asked. “He’ll stay inside that glass box for now and I’ll have someone guard him 24/7.”, Lumos assured them. “So, we’ll just go back to our daily lives? And pretend nothing happened?”, Baekhyun asked next. “Yes, my dear. But you still need to continue your training, so same as before, we’ll meet here every after class.”, Lumos answered and the guardians nodded. “I’ll head back to the portal to Exo’luxion and seal it off then continue to look for the rest of the portals.”, Lumos added. “I can help looking for the portal.”, Jongin volunteered. “I appreciate it my dear but I need you to focus on your training first, okay?”, Lumos declined and the younger just nodded. After saying their goodbyes, they all went back to their realm and went back home.

A few more days has passed and things are back to normal again, well, as normal as it can get for the guardians. They went back to their routines, Home-School-Training-Home. Some of them still have nightmares, unable to forget the battle in Exo’luxion, the creepy smile and laugh of Ypnos and the monsters they fought. But slowly, they heal by focusing on their training, getting stronger to overcome their fears and of course, enjoying the company of each other with endless talking about random things, teasing each other and laughing.

“It’s really a great place. I’m excited.”, Sehun said suddenly and the three who’s sulking suddenly turned to their youngest. “How did he know?!”, Baekhyun asked Junmyeon while pointing at Sehun. “I can’t keep a secret from him.”, Junmyeon smiled sheepishly while Sehun smiled smugly at them. “But that’s unfair! We’re your friends! Tell uuuusss!”, Jongdae whined loudly and the lights flickered slightly. “Hyung, calm down. Don’t bust the lights.”, Jongin said to his brother. Junmyeon looked at Kyungsoo and the younger just shrugged. “Let’s just tell them hyung. They’re getting really annoying. I won’t hear the end of it.”, Kyungsoo finally agreed. The eyes of the three brighten up and the others looked at them as well, now showing their interest. “So, where are we going?”, Chanyeol asked one more time. “We’re going to a beach in Gangwon-do.”, Junmyeon answered. “Yesss!!!”, the group errupted. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo chuckled and shook their head while Sehun laughed at their reaction but joined them in celebrating.

“Wait, how about our training for that weekend?”, Minseok suddenly remembered. The group deflated, they forgot about that part of their lives for a second there. “I’ll talk to Lumos, maybe we can work something out.”, Junmyeon said to the group and they looked hopeful. “I’ll help you talk to Lumos, Junmyeon.”, Yifan said. “Thank you, Yifan.”, Junmyeon said and smiled sweetly at him. Sehun glared at Yifan. “Chill, Sehunnie. You can come to if you want.”, Yifan said to the younger and ruffled his hair. Junmyeon kissed Sehun cheeks. “You know you’re really cute when your jealous, right?”, Junmyeon whispered to him but the younger just rolled his eyes but then smiled at him.

After their training that day, Junmyeon and Yifan walked to Lumos, followed by Sehun and told her about the planned school activity during the weekend. “You boys should go. As much as I want you to get stronger and be prepared, I don’t want you boys missing out on your teenage life.”, Lumos said. “Thank you, Lumos!”, Junmyeon said, smiling widely. “No need to thank me Suho. You boys deserve to have a break. You’ve accomplished so much in the past weeks.”, Lumos praised them. “I’ll tell them now.”, Sehun said as he run back to his friends while Lumos smiled at him adorably.

“Guys!!! She said yes! We can go!”, Sehun announced to his friends and the grouped cheered for the second time, excitement evident on their eyes. Junmyeon and Yifan arrived while they’re all talking excitedly, planning on what should they bring and what to do when they get there. They all went home still talking about their upcoming trip. It was all what everyone was talking about in school the whole week as they are all looking forward to the trip.

The day of the trip finally came. As usual, the twelve of them met at their spot near the portal. “I brought some playing cards, Uno cards, Jenga and a few board games.”, Chanyeol said as he opens his bag full of games. “Did you even bring your clothes?”, Minseok asked as he only see the games he mentioned in the bag. “Yup, some of it are in Baekhyun’s bag.”, he replied smiling ear to ear. “I brought the snacks!”, Jongdae said and open his bag full of assorted chips and candies. “And where are your clothes?”, Luhan asked this time. “I put them in Jongin’s bag.”, he said and pointed at his brother’s bag. “What?! When did you do that? That’s why my bag felt heavier.”, Jongin said as he check his bag. “Oh, shut up. You can teleport anyway.”, Jongdae said back. “Did you guys bring any shampoo? I think I forgot mine.”, Chanyeol said again. “I got it covered babe.”, Baekhyun answered. “Jongin, Sehun, Tao. What are you guys eating?”, Yixing asked as he saw the three huddled. “Yah! You brats. Why are you eating that? That’s for our lunch!”, Kyungsoo scolded the maknaes. “Jongin.”, Tao said, again like it’s enough for a proper explanation. Jongin just smiled sweetly at Kyungsoo and Sehun grab one more bite then run towards Junmyeon to hide. Kyungsoo just shook his head, giving up.

The guardians manage to sit together at the back of the bus, thanks to Junmyeon and Kyungsoo’s ‘student council powers’. They all chatted happily, eat their snacks and even play games. “Let’s play the frying pan game again!”, Chanyeol suggested and Junmyeon groaned loudly. Minseok and Sehun laughed at him. “What’s that?”, Luhan asked. “We’ll demonstrate first then you can join the next round.”, Chanyeol answered. They played one round and as expected, Junmyeon lost. Baekhyun was about to hit him but Minseok stopped him since there were no punishments yet for that round. “Punishment will be Indian bop for the next round.”, Kyungsoo announced. “Game!”, Jongdae shouted. They played round after round until their teacher/coordinator, Mr. Heechul announced that they’ve arrived at the place where they will stay.

They will be staying at a huge wide hall like with a stage in front. They will also be sleeping in there with the provided sleeping bags. The guardians just placed their things in a corner when Mr. Heechul gathered them near the stage to announce the itinerary for the day. They will be doing a bunch of team exercise first then they will be given time to prepare for a short performance before dinner. They were asked to perform by group and were allowed to form their own groups so, naturally the guardians grouped together. After the performance, they will be having their dinner outside for a barbecue party then they’ll have their free time.

They spent a few hours on different trust activities which were easy for the twelve. Well, they’re training to fight every day for the past few weeks so this is like a child’s play to them but still, they participated whole heartedly. When it was time to practice for their performance, the group huddled in their corner. “What should we do?”, Sehun asked the group. “Well, we are made of Music and Dance clubs, so sing and dance?”, Minseok suggested. “I’m from Arts Club though.”, Yifan said. “We know you can rap, Yifan. Tao and I heard you a couple of times, you know.”, Luhan replied. “Just a little bit.”, Yifan humbly said. “And I know both Myeonnie and Kyungsoo can sing.”, Minseok added. “Okay then, you guys decide on the song and then Jongin, Sehun, Tao and I will handle the choreography.”, Yixing suggested. “Hmmm. How about Growl?”, Kyungsoo suggested. “I love that song! And we know the choreo too.”, Jongin supported Kyungsoo’s suggestion. The group then divided the song amongst them then the dance club taught them the steps.

After a few practices, they successfully pulled the song and choreography. There was a draw lots beforehand to decide the sequence of the performances and they are the last to perform. They were nervous by the time the last group before them finished their performance. They were all amazing. After Mr. Heechul called their group, they all went to the stage. Minseok, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Tao, Jongin and Sehun positioned in front of the stage first while the other six is at the back. The song started with Tao, “Yow. Okay...”. The first six begun the choreo while each one of them sing their lines. After the first verse and chorus, the other six moved in front for the 2nd verse and chorus. After the second chorus, they all danced together during Yifan and Chanyeol’s rap part. When they ended, they received a huge round of applause from their club mates and Mr. Heechul. Maybe they are also cut out for this aside from fighting monsters.

After the performances, they head out to the barbecue party. They happily eat at their heart’s content. When satisfied with their dinner, they were asked to go back to the room and prepare for bed. They were not allowed to go to the beach since it’s already dark so they just played all the games that Chanyeol brought and had fun inside. The guardians planned to go out early in the morning to catch the sunrise by the beach so they decided to sleep early after a few games.

“Kyungsoo-hyung, come with me. I want to show something to you.”, Jongin said as he tries to wake up Kyungsoo without disturbing the others. Kyungsoo got up and Jongin pulled him outside then teleported to the empty beach. “What are we doing here Jongin-ah? It’s late already.”, Kyungsoo complained, still sleepy. Jongin place a mat on the sand and laid down. “Come lay here beside me hyung. You’ll love the view of the stars.”, the younger said. Kyungsoo laid down beside him and his eyes widen. Above them is a clear view of the stars shining brightly at them. Jongin looked at him and smiled satisfied with his reaction. “Do you like it?”, Jongin asked. “Yes. I actually do.”, Kyungsoo responded then smiled at Jongin. “How about me? Do you like me?”, Jongin asked bravely. Kyungsoo stayed silent for a while and just stared at the sky full of stars. “Yes.”, he finally said after a few nervous moments for Jongin. His eyes widen and he sat up suddenly and faced Kyungsoo. “Really? You like-like me?”, he confirmed and Kyungsoo smiled sweetly at him and nodded. Jongin immediately bend down and kissed Kyungsoo in the lips. The older responded to the kiss as soon as they lips met. They kissed gently and sweetly for a while with no rush. “I like you too hyung!”, Jongin confessed after their kiss. They stayed for a little while longer under the stars but decided to go back so they can catch some sleep. They both fell asleep with smiles plastered in their faces.

Minseok and Luhan were the first to wake up the next morning. They shake the others awake while avoiding waking up the other students. After a few groans and a ‘5 more minutes’ from the others, they’re all finally awake, bundled up and on their way to the beach. They sat together near the water as they wait for the sunrise. “Should we make a wish?”, Junmyeon asked them as he sees the sun peeking already. “I’ll go first! I wish everyone will be safe and healthy!”, Jongdae shouted. “Do we need to shout?”, Kyungsoo asked. “Only if you like to.”, Junmyeon replied chuckling. They each shouted their wish which mostly are the same, from being healthy to staying friends forever and winning their battles against the Red Force. After a few moments of silence, they finally got up.

“Wait, someone should go in the water.”, Baekhyun said. “But it’s freezing cold right now.”, Yixing said. “We’ve done it before in the waterfall. And Junmyeon-hyung and Sehun is here.”, Baekhyun insisted. “Then why don’t the two of them just go.”, Kyungsoo suggested. Junmyeon was shocked at Kyungsoo’s suggestion but the younger just smiled with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes. “I think those three are rubbing in you already Kyungsoo.”, Junmyeon said. “Heyy!!!”, ChanBaek and Jongdae protested. “I didn’t even say your names, what are you guys shouting at?”, Junmyeon said laughing at them. “Okay, okay. Just go in already.”, Yifan said. Junmyeon and Sehun looked at each other and went in the water together while holding hands. Junmyeon didn’t mind the water’s temperature while Sehun used his powers to protect him from the cold. They dove in and Sehun made one big air bubble that covers both of them, while Junmyeon manipulated the water so they won’t get wet. They smiled each other as they outsmarted their friends. They stayed a little longer than they should as they share a long and sweet kiss underwater. “Yaaaah! Come out already!”, Minseok shouted at them and the two raised up. “That was no use, they didn’t even get wet.”, Luhan said as the two emerged from the sea. "You guys are no fun.", Jongdae mumbled. The others just shook their heads and went back inside, with Junmyeon and Sehun giggling following them.

It was a short fun trip and a good break from all the mess they faced the past few weeks and when they come back, their training will start and they have to face their reality again. But they’re all grateful for the weekend spent with each other, not worrying about surviving and just being normal teenagers. Maybe someday they can do it again with just them and Lumos.

### To be continued...


	9. Let Out the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The instinct that can't be hidden.  
> You know I'm gonna let out the beast!  
> You can feel it too.  
> You know you wanna let out the beast!  
> It starts show time let out the beast!  
> Shout out loud let out the beast!  
> Now all together let out the beast”

# Let Out the Beast

Weeks have passed after their trip. They all came back in good moods and are happy to go back to their training routines. They’ve mastered their powers by now and developed new techniques as well. Lumos is really satisfied with their training results. After the physical training, Lumos let them start learning more of the Red Force and their monster pets. So today, the guardians are stuck in the library to learn more of the monsters they’re most likely to face. At the end of the table, Chanyeol is snoring already after reading a few pages. Upon seeing this, the three maknaes decided to have some fun. They drew on Chanyeol’s face while the latter is in deep sleep, not even bothered by the snickering from the three while they do their art work. The rest of the guardians let them be since it’s Chanyeol’s fault for sleeping during their training. After a while he stirred in his sleep and woke up and the three went back to ‘reading’. “What happened to you?”, Jongdae asked laughing as he sees Chanyeol’s face filled with scribbles. The rest of the guardians looked and laughed at him. “What??? Why are you guys laughing. Is there something on my face? I didn’t drool, did I?”, he asked as he wipe his mouth just in case there’s actually a drool but when he looked at his hands though, insead of drool, he noticed there’s smeared ink. He wiped again and more ink smeared in his hands. His brows furrowed and went to the nearest window to see his reflection. “Taaao! Sehuuuun! Jongin-aaah!”, Chanyeol shouted and the three immediately hide behind their other hyungs for protection. “Calm down Chanyeol-ah, they’re just messing with you.”, Baekhyun reasoned, trying to calm down his boyfriend while hiding his laugh. “You pieces of shit! Come here!”, Chanyeol ignored Baekhyun as he approached the three. “Chanyeol, calm down. You might burn the whole library down.”, Minseok interjected, afraid the tall guardian might actually start a fire. Chanyeol stopped approaching the three but continued to shout at them.

Suddenly the ground shook and pieces of the ceiling crumbled down to their table. They all looked up then looked at Kyungsoo but the earth guardian is as shocked at them. “It’s not me! I’m not doing this.”, he explained. “What the hell?!”, Yifan screamed as the ceiling keeps crumbling down. “It’s not an earthquake. Something big is coming our way! What the hell is that?! Is that fucking Godzilla?!”, Jongdae said as he pointed outside the window showing a dinasour like monster walking towards the building. They all backed out and run outside the building to face the monster and Lumos joined them. “It’s one of the monsters from Exo’luxion. I read about that. It’s an ancient monster, some sort of a T-rex with wings.”, Junmyeon said. “I don’t see any wings.”, Chanyeol said and as if on cue, two gigantic wings spread from the back of the monster. “Nice going hyung, you have to ask for it, don’t you?”, Jongin said. “I have to check on Ypnos. This might be a diversion to break him out. Suho, I trust you know how to handle this.”, Lumos said before she ran off to the training arena to check on Ypnos.

“How did it get here in Elyxion? There must be a portal here somewhere. We need to seal it before other huge monsters came in”, Luhan said. “Myeonnie, what’s its weakness?”, Minseok asked his twin. “Wait, I’m thinking. I’m thinking. Uhmmm. Its exterior is hard as metal so probably no use if we attack it directly. Its peripheral vision is not great, so we can use that to our advantage. Uhmmm we should attack it from the inside. That’s the only way I can think of right now.”, Junmyeon said. “How are we going to do that?! By letting ourselves get eaten?”, Baekhyun asked. “Of course not. Okay, here’s the plan. Sehunnie, Kyungsoo, slow the monster down or try to divert it’s direction away from here so no one from the inside the building will get hurt.”, Junmyeon started and the two nodded and went ahead. “Baekhyun, Jongdae, Chanyeol, you guys need to distract it. Take advantage of its poor peripheral vision, be your annoying selves.”, Junmyeon continued. “With pleasure!”, Chanyeol smiled smugly and the three followed Sehun and Kyungsoo. “Yifan bring Tao with you and fly through its mouth then wreak havoc inside of it, Minseok-hyung and I will give you an opening. Jongin-ah go with them. Teleport them out once you’re done tearing it from the inside. Bring as many weapons as you need.”, Junmyeon instructed. “Wicked! Let’s get the weapons Jongin-ah.”, Tao said excitedly. “Luhan and Yixing, I need you to find the portal. It needs to be sealed immediately. It must not be far from here. You can follow its foot tracks.”, the two nodded and started to look for the portal.

As soon as Sehun got close to the giant monster, he tried to trap the monster into a tornado but since it’s too big and strong, his tornado doesn’t last too long. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo keeps trying to hold the monster’s feet underground but the it always manages to break through the ground. Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae arrived and immediately started annoying the monster. “Sehun-ah can you give me a lift? I want to blind this stupid beast.”, Baekhyun asked. Sehun stopped his tornado for a while and controlled the wind to lift Baekhyun right next to the monster’s head. As Baekhyun have a clear shot, he flashed a bright light directly to the monster’s eyes. The monster roared and stumbled causing the ground to shake again. Chanyeol and Jongdae, continuously throw fire and electric blast at the monster while shouting curses which looks like it actually annoyed the monster. “Baekhyun! Continue flashing it!”, Jongdae shouted and Chanyeol punched him in the arm. “What the hell dude?!”, Chanyeol complained at his friend. “Sorry, that came out wrong. But you know what I mean!”, Jongdae apologized smiling sheepishly.

Baekhyun produced a blinding light which looks like it permanently blinded the monster so Sehun put him down again. “Can you lift me and Minseok-hyung as well, Sehunnie?”, Junmyeon asked his boyfriend. Sehun nodded and lifted both Junmyeon and Minseokin the air. “Yifan, Tao, Jongin-ah! Be ready!”, Minseok shouted. Junmyeon immediately filled the monster’s mouth with water and Minseok frozed it. Minseok left a hole at the center of the ice big enough for his friends to fit in. “Yifan now!”, Junmyeon shouted. Yifan took Tao and immediately flew inside the monster followed by Jongin who teleported in the mouth first grinning then slid down through the monster’s throat, “Whooooooh!”, Jongin shouted as he slides down smoothly. “I’ll join them!”, Chanyeol shouted as he shoots through the sky like a rocket, Ironman style. He landed in the monster’s mouth and slide down like Jongin. “Show-off!”, Jongdae shouted after him. 

Minseok helped Kyungsoo to trap the monster in place while the other four rip the monster inside-out. In a moment, they can hear the four laughing out loud. “Sounds like they’re enjoying in there.”, Kyungsoo muttered while shaking his head. After a moment the monster’s stomach exploded and the rest took cover as the monster’s flesh and blood splattered around them. “Where are they?”, Baekhyun asked. “That was freaking fun! Are there more???”, Chanyeol asked as they appeared beside their friends. “Glad that you had fun but please be careful for what you wish for.”, Minseok replied. “Guys! We found the portal!”, Luhan shouted as they came running to them. “Were you able to seal it?”, Junmyeon asked. “Yup! Luckily Lumos already taught us how to do that.”, Yixing replied. “Speaking of Lumos, we need to go back to her. She might need our help.”, Yifan said.

The guardians went directly to the arena where Ypnos is being kept but as they enter, Lumos is nowhere to be found and Ypnos is just standing there looking bored. “Lumos! Where are you?”, Yifan shouted as he reached the center of the arena. “Lumos!”, the others shouted as well, following Yifan in the center. “Oh, you guys are in for a treat!”, Ypnos said. The guardians glared at him then suddenly the lights went out. “Who’s out there?”, Jongdae shouted. Baekhyun conjured lights around them but unable to see anything else aside from themselves.

“Hello guardians. Are you looking for your mentor?”, a voice in the dark spoke and chuckled, sending chills in their spine. “I thought Ypnos’ voice is creepy but it sounds nothing to this voice.”, Tao silently commented. “I see you captured my brother. I’m not even surprised. I always thought he’s the weakest. Pathetic!”, the voice continued and Ypnos growled, “Asshole!”. “Can you just show yourself already? Your pathetic brother has done that voice in the dark thing already.”, Sehun said annoyed. “Brat!”, Ypnos grunted. “And where’s Lumos? What have you done to her?”, Yixing inquired with anger in his voice. For a while there was silence and then they heard footsteps approaching them, they backed out a little, alert and ready to defend themselves.

A cloaked man appeared in front of them with an unconscious Lumos in his arms. “Oh no, not again.”, Luhan groaned. “Don’t worry, she’s not dead… yet.”, the cloaked man said smiling. “You piece of shit! What did you do to her?!”, Yifan screamed at him. “Oh, I just knocked her out. Nothing much. She’s really weak, you know? I wonder how did she even became a guardian in the first place.”, he answered snorting. “I’m Aimilios by the way and I believe you’ve all met my pet already and judging by your current state, you’ve already killed it. Too bad, that youngster is one of my favorites. Its parents are angry though.”, the cloaked man continued, unbothered and not truly sorry for his pet’s fate. “Parents? That thing is still a fucking baby?”, Jongdae said, incredulous. The cloaked man laughed and suddenly two monsters appeared, crashing half of the arena as they stepped on it from the outside. “Shit! They’re bigger.”, Jongin said. “It’s Chanyeol’s fault!”, Minseok said. “Why is it my fault?”, Chanyeol exclaimed. “You were wishing for more earlier! Now here’s your fucking wish!”, Minseok replied.

“So how do you guys want to do this?”, Sehun asked them but only looking at Junmyeon. “Let’s divide and conquer. We can still do the same approach earlier. Kyungsoo and Minseok-hyung, trap them and stop them from moving. Baehkyun and Jongdae, distraction. Sehunnie and Luhan will do the lifting. Yifan and Tao go to the monster at the left. Jongin and Chanyeol go to the monster at the right. I’ll make an opening in their mouth with Minseok-hyung again.”, Junmyeon said their plan. “What about Aimilios?”, Kyungsoo asked. “He disappeared!”, Yixing said. “No! He’s still here. I can feel his presence. It’s one of his powers, right? Invisibility?”, Sehun said. “I’ll look out for him and guard Ypnos. Go now!”, Yixing said. “Be careful, Yixing. Remember his powers from what we’ve learned. He has Invisibility, Super Strength and Super Speed. We’ll be back with you when we can.”, Minseok said.

The guardians immediately go to their assigned tasks. In just a few minutes, Kyungsoo and Minseok both stopped the monsters for moving. “Guys! Move faster! We can’t hold them for long!”, Kyungsoo shouted. Sehun lifted Baekhyun at the monster’s eye level same and Luhan lifted Jongdae. They blinded the monster and went back down. “Jongdae, Baekhyun! Go to Yixing!”, Junmyeon shouted as he tried to fill the monster’s mouth with water. Aimilios appeared and is now fighting Yixing in combat but Yixing can’t keep up with Aimilios’ speed and strength. Baekhyun and Jongdae run to Yixing’s side. “Shut your eyes!”, Baekhyun shouted as he produced a wall of blinding lights around them. Aimilios disappeared again and the three are now standing back-to-back waiting for Aimilios to attack again.

Meanwhile, Junmyeon and Minseok successfully created an opening for the other guardians. Junmyeon immediately run back to Yixing, Baekhyun and Jongdae to help them. Minseok went back to help Kyungsoo in strengthening the trap in the monsters’ feet then freezing the wings of the monsters to prevent them from flying. Yifan and Tao are already inside the monster and slashing and tearing the monster apart while the other monster is now visibly burning from inside. Jongin teleported himself and Chanyeol outside of the monster before it exploded into pieces. Not long after the explosion, Yifan and Tao flew out of the other monster as it bleeds to death.

When they turn to see their friends, Yixing is now on the ground healing an injured Baekhyun while Jongdae and Junmyeon are defending them from the attacks of Aimilios, both slightly injured already. “Baekhyunnie!”, Chanyeol shouted as he run to his boyfriend’s side. Before he reached them though, Junmyeon was thrown down to the ground and Jongdae was thrown across the arena. “Junmyeon!”, Sehun shouted as he blasted a full-forced wind at Aimilios knocking him down a little. Aimilios turned invisible again as the guardians run to their friends. Sehun cradled Junmyeon and Jongin went to get his hyung and came back to the group. “Place them here, quickly.”, Yixing said as he finished healing Baekhyun. He started healing Junmyeon and Jongdae simultaneously. “Be alert! He’s still here.”, Sehun said as he stood up trying to block the injured and Yixing. The group circled around them waiting. “How the hell can we see him. He’s fucking invisible!”. Yifan complained. “I think I know how. I need to manipulate the light around, I’ve been working on it with Lumos.”, Baekhyun said as he tried to sit up and Chanyeol hurried to help him up. “Are you sure you can do it now? You’re still hurt.”, he asked, concerned. “I can do this. I have to.”, Baekhyun said, determined.

Baekhyun closed his eyes and did his magic. “There he is!”, Kyungsoo shouted as he crouched and let the ground hold Aimilios. He almost caught him but Aimilios was too fast for him. “Uggh. He’s really annoying!”, Jongin said. “I can slow him down. I just need to see him enough.”, Tao said. “Okay, I’ll try again.”, Baekhyun said as he closed his eyes. A moment after, Tao raised his hand as he sees Aimilios running straight at them. Aimilios slowed down and is now more visible thanks to Baekhyun. “Gotcha, bitch!”, Tao said smiling triumphal. Minseok held his hands up as well and froze Aimilios but it was broken immediately because of his super strength. Kyungsoo then trapped him in between of two big boulders, squishing him with force. “Minseok-hyung, freeze him with the boulders.”, Kyungsoo said. Minseok did as told. “This won’t work for long, Kyungsoo and I can trap him with our powers right now but it’s really draining. He’s really strong and can break through this any moment.”, Minseok said.

“We can move him with his brother in the glass box so they can be pathetic together. But we need to be fast when we removed the boulder and the ice.”, Luhan said. “Luhan, can you place the boulder above the box? Tao, keep him in super slow-mo while Kyungsoo and I remove the boulder and ice. I’ll freeze him directly again until his inside the box. Yifan, be ready at the top of the box to close it and make sure Ypnos will not escape.”, Minseok instructed. They successfully put Aimilios inside the box after following Minseok’s instructions and Yixing was able to heal both Junmyeon and Jongdae. “Where’s Lumos?”, Junmyeon asked as Sehun helps him to sit up. “I can’t feel her presence.”, Sehun said. “Of course not, she’s in our realm.”, Aimilios said. “What?!”, the guardians shouted simultaneously as they face Aimilios. And Aimilios just laughed evilly. “You’re really a piece of shit. Why did you bring her in your realm?! What are you planning?”, Yifan screamed at him and pounded the glass box. Chanyeol and Jongin held him back “Calm down, Yifan. You might break the glass.”, Luhan said. “Pssh. Like I’m going to tell you that.”, Aimilios snorted and rolled his eyes at the guardians then looked at Ypnos and punched him, knocking him out. “I guess I’m still strong even without my super strength.”.

After helping in cleaning up all the mess from the fight, the guardians are now scattered in the dome room seated or lying on the floor, resting. Junmyeon is lying at Sehun’s lap while the younger massages his head and Baekhyun sitting on Chanyeol’s lap with his head resting on his boyfriend’s chest. They’re all exhausted, speechless and doesn’t know what to do next. “Should we go to Exo’luxion?”, Luhan asked. “Of course, we should. But we need to plan this carefully. None of us know that realm and the library books doesn’t have much information on it.”, Minseok answered. “How are we going to get there?”, Tao asked next. “Hmm. There must be another portal we can use. Those two monsters in the arena must have used another one. We should be able to find it if we track it back.”, Yixing answered this time. “We need to rest first. We’ll need all the energy and power we can get before we get there.”, Yifan said while massaging his neck. “Can we all sleep here instead? I’m not really comfortable on us being separated right now.”, Kyungsoo requested. The others agreed as Kyungsoo rarely request something like this and also, they actually feel the same way.

The guardians cleaned up first then Yifan and Luhan provided them sleeping bags. They are all lying down already but none of them seems sleepy. The happenings earlier still replaying in their minds. “I hope Lumos is okay.”, Tao sniffled hugging Yifan and the older patted his head to comfort him. “She will be. There must be a reason why Aimilios brought her to their realm. They might need her for something so they have to keep her alive.”, Junmyeon said as he also patted Tao’s back then went back on hugging Sehun on his other side then kissed him on his forehead. He felt safer hugging the youngest, grateful for his boyfriend’s presence. “This means the last of the Red Force is also awake already, right?”, Baekhyun pondered. “Yeah, there’s a high possibility. And she’s the most dangerous of the three of them.”, Junmyeon answered back. “Ugh. She can shape-shift and has regenerative powers, right? That’s going to be a real pain in the ass.”, Jongdae whined. “She also has mind-control. Which is what I’m scared of the most. She can easily turn us at each other.”, Minseok said. It was silent in the room again, they were all thinking of all the possibilities that can happen when they fight the last Red Force, Khamilea.

One by one, the guardians fell asleep aside from the twins. Junmyeon keeps on thinking on what he can do more as a leader, what should he do next, what should he say, how can he protect his friends and if he can still do this. “Min-hyung? You’re still awake?”, Junmyeon asked. “Hmm?”, Minseok replied from the other side of the sleeping Sehun. “I’m really scared. I don’t think I can be a leader anymore. I don’t know what to do.”, Junmyeon said in a small voice as a tear run down his eyes. Minseok faced his twin, “Myeonnie, you’ve done so well already. I’m really proud of what you’ve accomplished! You lead us to win today! Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being scared because I am too, we all are. You know, being a leader doesn’t mean you have to be fearless or you have to do everything alone. You’re not alone on this. We’re all here for each other, remember that.”, he said then hugged Junmyeon, squeezing Sehun in the middle of them as Junmyeon cried silently, releasing all the burden he’s carrying as their leader. Junmyeon crying wake Sehun up, but he didn’t say anything just hugged him tighter, letting him know that he’s there for him. The others are awake by this time, pretending they’re still sleeping. This is the first time they heard Junmyeon broke down. They know that Junmyeon acted strong in front of them even though he’s terribly frightened inside. Tao was the next to react, he hugged Junmyeon from the back, also crying silently. Yifan followed then all of them turned to face Junmyeon and hugged. “Thank you.”, Junmyeon whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. They all slept peacefully after that.

The next morning, they all wake up tangled with each other, arms and feet sprawled over one another. Kyungsoo is the first to get up, removing the feet of Jongin in his stomach. He went straight to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast and was followed by Minseok and Chanyeol. The rest clean up the dome room while Jongdae and Jongin head to the arena to check on their prisoners.

When Jongdae and Jongin entered the arena, they saw that the two brothers are bickering. “Good morning pathetic bros”, Jongdae greeted them while Jongin laughed at his side. The Red Force brothers glared at them. “What do you want?”, Aimilios asked with a grunt. “Nothing much, just like to see if you’re comfortable.”, Jongin replied smirking at them. “Did you have a good sleep?”, Jongdae added. “I’m not gonna tell you anything.”, Aimilios said, sensing what the two wants. Jongdae and Jongin looked at each other and then shrugged and started to walk away. “She’s still alive but be careful of our sister.”, Ypnos said. “Shut up! You idiot!”, Aimilios screamed at his brother. The guardians heard Ypnos warning but they know that much already so they just continued to walk away.

When they got back, breakfast is already served in the patio, the other guardians waiting for them. “Still not talking?”, Minseok asked them as they seated. “Nope.”, Jongdae answered. They all ate in silence, nervous of what they have to do. “We need to go back to our realm first.”, Junmyeon broke the silence. They all looked up at him wondering why they need to go back to their realm. “We need to check on our own homes first just to make sure that our families were not harmed while we’re away. Also, we need to come up with an excuse we can use since our trip to Exo’luxion might take a while.”, Junmyeon explained to them. “How about a club competition out of town? We had one of those last year, we can use it as an excuse.”, Yixing suggested. “I think that’ll work.”, Minseok agreed. “Okay then, while waiting, Luhan, Tao and I will prepare everything we might need in Exo’luxion. The others nodded and finished their breakfast.

After cleaning up, the nine guardians went back to their realm and their own homes. Fortunately, nothing bad happened while they were gone fighting Aimilios. They all said their goodbyes to their families and went back to Elyxion. Upon arriving they all went straight to the room where their fighting gears are kept. They all changed and checked their communication equipment and Yifan, Luhan and Tao gave them bags containing rations and other necessities as well. When they’re all ready, they head to the arena again. The pathetic brothers are still in the glass box, Ypnos knocked out again with another bruise in his face. Aimilios glared at them as they walk by heading to the direction where the two monsters came from. “Hope you brats all die there!”, he shouted at them. “Don’t miss us too much!”, Sehun shouted back giving them a wink and a flying kiss. “Brat!”, Aimilios grunted.

The guardians followed the track of the two monsters and were lead deep in the forest then found themselves in front of a huge cliff. The portal is floating in the air past above the cliff. “Great! We’re gonna die before we even went through the portal.”, Jongdae said. “Idiot, we have Luhan and Sehun plus Yifan can fly!”, Kyungsoo said. “Oh right! Sorry.”, Jongdae smiled sheepishly. “Are you guys ready?”, Junmyeon asked the group and they all nodded. “Alright then, Kyungsoo, can you conjure a few big flat rocks?”, Luhan said. Kyungsoo obliged and produced the rocks in front of them. Luhan then positioned them like stairs connecting the cliff to the portal. “Nice Luhan! Thanks! Now, Let’s go guys!”, Jongdae said as he climbed up the made-up stairs. Jongdae went through the portal first followed by the rest with Luhan bringing up the rear.

Once through the portal they find themselves standing in a clearing surrounded by tall trees with the dark sky above them. Not far from where they are, they can see a tall rock mountain and some sort of castle at the top. “Okay, I’m guessing our villain is right up there.”, Baekhyun said pointing at the mountain. “Classic villain!”, Chanyeol agreed. “Okay, looks like we have our destination. Let’s go!”, Minseok said. “Wait guys! We have company. W-we’re surrounded”, Sehun stopped them. Red eyes begin to appear around them, wolf-like monsters with large fangs and black fur slowly appeared from behind the trees in front of them. They stepped back cautiously but at their back, they were also greeted with the same monsters. They huddled together with their backs at each other while the monsters slowly surrounded them, hundreds of pairs of red eyes glaring at them. “Looks like we have a welcoming party.”.

### To be continued...


	10. Sweet Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I tell her  
> Sweet lies, sweet lies, sweet lies  
> The sweetest lie in the world baby  
> I tell her  
> Sweet lies, sweet lies  
> If this is what you want, I’ll give it all to you
> 
> No, no, no, no, no  
> Baby, don't say u want no liar  
> No, no, no, no, no  
> Baby, don't say u want no bad guy  
> Because the truth hurts more than the lie  
> You cover your ears with your hands”

# Sweet Lies

“Oh C’mon! We just got here!”, Jongdae whined as he zapped a few more oversized wolves in front of him. “Let’s just fucking end this. Guys! Lead them down here!”, Kyungsoo shouted as he created a huge sink hole at the center of the clearing. The guardians followed Kyungsoo’s instructions and herd all of the wolves to the sink hole. Chanyeol then made a wall of fire around the sink hole to prevent them from coming up. Once all the wolves are in the sink hole, Kyungsoo buried them and pushed them further underground. Luckily, the monsters didn’t come back above the ground. The guardians are now panting hard after fighting hundreds of wild wolves. “Nice work Kyungsoo-yah!”, Junmyeon praised Kyungsoo as he patted his back. “Can Jongin just teleport us directly to that stupid castle? I really don’t want to go through that dark forest and climb that steep mountain.”, Baekhyun suggested as he catch his breath. “That’s not a bad idea but I think we shouldn’t teleport directly, maybe just near the castle? We don’t know what’s waiting for us in there.”, Minseok replied. “How about I’ll take two of you and scout around the castle first?”, Jongin suggested. “That’s a good idea. You can take Sehun and Kyungsoo with you. They have better senses with the air and ground.”, Junmyeon agreed and the three nodded.

“I’ll be back.”, Sehun said as he kisses Junmyeon then go to where Jongin is standing with Kyungsoo and already holding his hand. “Please be careful.”, Junmyeon said to the three and the three disappeared right after. The remaining guardians temporarily set camp in the clearing and rests while waiting for the three. “Guys? Can you hear me?”, Kyungsoo said through their intercom after a few minutes. “Yes, we can hear you? How’s it looking there? Are you guys okay?”, Junmyeon replied and the others listens. “We’re fine hyung. So far, it’s clear here. No signs of monsters.”, Kyungsoo reported. “But it’s too quiet. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”, Sehun added. “Can you look for an entrance in the castle we can use without being seen?”, Yifan asked. “Yes, I saw a door at the side of the castle. I don’t think there’s anyone guarding it.”, Jongin answered. “Alright, Jongin, can you take the rest of us there? I think it’s safer to just teleport to avoid being seen.”, Minseok asked. “Okay, hyung. I’m coming.”, Jongin said then reappeared at the clearing. Jongin took the rest of the guardians in just one trip. They are now behind the trees near the door at the side of the castle, hiding just in case there are any guards or monsters around that they missed.

“Do you guys think there will be guards or monsters behind the door?”, Luhan asked them. “Hmmm, I don’t hear anyone beyond the door.”, Sehun replied. “Jongin-ah, take Jongdae and teleport just behind that door and check. Be quiet as much as possible. We don’t want to attract any monsters.”, Junmyeon instructed. “Hyung, are you sure you want me to take Jongdae-hyung? I mean being quiet is not exactly his forte.”, Jongin replied as the others chuckled quietly. “Yah! I can be quiet!”, his brother countered as he slapped the back of Jongin’s head. Jongin just sighed and shrugged, took his brother’s hand then disappeared from their side. After a moment, the door opened from the inside revealing the two motioning them to come in. They all run to the door and shut it once they’re inside. So far, it’s quiet and there’s still no sign of monsters. “What now?”, Chanyeol asked. “I don’t want to get separated but I think our best option is to spread out and look for Lumos first.”, Junmyeon suggested. “I agree but let’s pair up. No one should be alone.”, Minseok said. “I’ll go with Tao.”, Yifan said. “I’ll take Yixing-hyung.”, Jongdae said as he looked at the healer. “Okay, let’s just take our roommates then.”, Luhan said. They all nodded then went their separate ways, checking all the rooms from ground floor working their way up.

It’s really weird that there is no sign of anyone or anything in the castle. “Guys, shouldn’t we’ve encounter anyone by now?”, Tao asked via their intercom. “Tao is right. This doesn’t feel right at all.”, Yixing replied, worried and weapons still ready. “Guys! We found Lumos!”, Minseok announced. “Where are you? Is she okay?”, Junmyeon asked immediately as they started to run. “We’re on the top floor. She’s still unconscious. Yixing come here quickly please.”, Luhan replied. After a few minutes, the guardians are all gathered at the top floor. Yixing kneeled beside Lumos at the floor and check on her. At first nothing happens but then Lumos groaned. They all surrounded her, “Lumos, are you okay?”, Tao asked worriedly. “I’m f-fine. What happened?”, Lumos asked as she tried to sit up while Tao helps her. “You were brought here in Exo’luxion by Aimilios. We came here looking for you.”, Yifan explained to Lumos. “H-how did you guys get here?”, Lumos asked. Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow but Luhan answered, “We used the portal used by Aimilios and his pets.”. “We should go back. It’s dangerous here.”, Lumos said without looking at them and dettaching herself from Tao which the younger frowned on.

Jongin teleported all of them back to the clearing and they used the portal to go back to Elyxion. They took Lumos directly to her room and let her rest some more. They all went to the equipment room after making sure Lumos is fine to change back to their normal clothes and return their equipment. “Myeonnie, I still feel that something’s not right.”, Sehun whispered to Junmyeon. Junmyeon looked at Sehun as he feels the same. There’s something not right with Lumos and how easy it was to find her and take her back. “You’re right.”, Junmyeon whispered back. After changing, he turned to his friends and get their attention, “Guys, I don’t want to be negative about this but something doesn’t feel right.”. The guardians looked at each other but stayed silent. “What do you mean? We got Lumos back and we’re all okay, right?”, Yifan asked. “But don’t you think it was all too easy?”, Sehun supported Junmyeon. “I don’t think fighting those wolves were easy.”, Jongdae countered. “You’re just being paranoid. Shouldn’t we be just grateful that we’re all back safe?”, Baekhyun added. “I know. I know. I’m sorry but I can’t help feeling that somethings wrong. I was expecting to face Khamilia and her own pets.”, Junmyeon explained. “Maybe you’re just stressed and tired hyung, let’s get some rest first, okay?”, Luhan said comforting Junmyeon then headed out followed by Yifan, Jongdae, Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

“Hyung, I also think something’s wrong with Lumos. She keeps avoiding my touch. She always let me cling into her but earlier she doesn’t even look at me.”, Tao said as he sobs. Junmyeon put an arm around the younger and patted him in the back to comfort him. He is really like a baby. “She also called us ‘guys’ and she never called us that. It’s either ‘children’ or ‘my dears’.”, Kyungsoo added his observation. “I think we should observe more. But right now, let’s just rest.”, Minseok said and Yixing nodded but stayed silent not telling them that he also felt something different while healing Lumos. He doesn’t want to worry them further; he needs to check on Lumos again to be sure.

The guardians all went back in their rooms and finally cleaned up and rest again but some are still worried and unable to sleep peacefully. In Junmyeon and Sehun’s room, the two are still awake with Sehun lying in Junmyeon’s chest and hugging the older’s torso. “Myeonnie?”, Sehun whispered. “Hmm?”, Junmyeon replied as he strokes the younger’s hair. “I know you’re still worried but we’ll be just fine. I’ll have your back no matter what. You know that, right?”, Sehun said as he looks up to Junmyeon’s face. “I know. Thank you my Sehunnie. I love you.”, Junmyeon replied then hugged Sehunnie closer then kissed him. “I love you too.”, Sehun said the kissed back. They kissed sweetly for a while not rushing and savoring their moment together. It’s been a while since they’ve been this intimate. The past few days, all they did was training and fighting, leaving them exhausted at the end of the day. But today, after all the mess that happened, they want this, they needed this.

After a while, Sehun started nibbling on Junmyeon’s lower lip and the older immediately moaned and open his mouth to deepen their kiss. Sehun wasted no time and slid his tongue inside Junmyeon’s mouth and moved to suck Junmyeon’s tongue next. Their kiss turned sloppy and Sehun moved to kiss Junmyeon’s jaws next then his neck then suck on the junction of Junmyeon’s neck and collar, earning another moan. This encouraged Sehun to let his hands explore the skin under Junmyeon’s shirt starting from his navel going upwards and stopping at his nipples, fondling then pinching it. Junmyeon moaned louder at this and Sehun paused for a moment to remove their shirts then straddle him and went back into marking Junmyeon’s neck and collar. Junmyeon bucked his hips up wanting friction for their hardening members and both of them moaned at the pleasure. “Aaahh, aahh… Sehunnie”, Junmyeon moaned near Sehun’s ears.

Getting greedy for more, Sehun sit up and removed their shorts and boxers next, leaving them completely naked. “Junmyeon, you’re so beautiful”, Sehun said as he admires the older’s naked body. Junmyeon chuckled and said, “You’re not so bad yourself.”, then pulled Sehun to his chest and kiss him full in the mouth. Junmyeon’s hands traveled from the back of Sehun towards to his member in between them. He wraps his fingers around it and gave it a slight squeeze which make Sehun moan in Junmyeon’s mouth. He sat back up again as Junymeon pump his member at a fast pace. “Myeonnie, I want to make you feel good.”, Sehun said as he stopped Junmyeon’s hand first then moved down a little bit to face Junmyeon’s crotch. He held Junmyeon’s cock and licked it from the base up to the tip. He licked the pre-cum dripping from the slit then take Junmyeon’s cock in his mouth. Junmyeon gasp and he run his fingers through the younger’s hair. Sehun hums around his cock, the vibration makes the older move his hips upward, his dick hitting Sehun’s throat. Sehun sucked harder making Junmyeon moan louder. They will be teased tomorrow for sure for the noise they’re currently making but both of them didn’t care. They want this badly. “Se-Sehunnie, I’m cumming.”, Junmyeon said and Sehun kept sucking faster. In just a few more moments, Junmyeon released hard and Sehun swallowed the cum, not leaving a drop to waste. “You taste delicious Myeonnie.”, Sehun said as he went back to kiss Junmyeon in the mouth.

Junmyeon flipped them and moved down to pleasure Sehun next. He holds the base of Sehun’s big cock and licked the pre-cum from the tip. He licked around Sehun’s cock as the younger squirmed below him. He finally takes Sehun’s cock full in his mouth. He sucked hard and Sehun moaned, “Fuck! It feels so good hyung!”. Encouraged by the younger’s reaction, Junmyeon move his mouth further down until Sehun’s dick reached his throat. Sehun moaned louder and grabbed Junmyeon’s hair. Junmyeon continued to suck harder until Sehun reached his climax and let the older swallow his cum as well. Junmyeon looked at Sehun and licked his lips. They kissed one last time and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning, they all went to the patio again to have breakfast with Lumos before heading back to their own realm. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were the last to come and before sitting, Baekhyun patted Sehun’s head and winked at him. The younger blushed and stuck his tongue out which made the older laugh out loud. “How are you Lumos? Do you feel better?”, Junmyeon asked Lumos, not wanting to hear the teasing from Baekhyun. “Yes. Of course, I’m fine.”, Lumos answered then winked at him which flustered Junmyeon and surprised the rest who saw it. Sehun held Junmyeons hand under the table, squeezing it. That was definitely something Lumos would do. “When will you guys be back? Yifan told me you’re going back to your realm.”, Lumos asked. Kyungsoo and Junmyeon looked at each other. Lumos called them ‘guys’ again which is totally weird for her. Also, she should know their training schedule. “Uhm, we’ll be back after classes like always for training.”, Minseok answered. “Oh right! The training. I forgot. Silly me. Haha!”, Lumos replied awkwardly which made the guardians look at her weirdly. They’re beginning to see what Junmyeon and Sehun was talking about yesterday. “Lumos, will it be okay if you let me check on you again before we leave? Just to make sure you’re fully healed.”, Yixing asked politely. “Oh no need, boy! I’m totally fine!”, Lumos declined. Now this made Yixing more uncomfortable. He looked at Junmyeon and his friend mouthed ‘later’. They will need to talk about this without Lumos. The rest must have noticed the difference in Lumos’ attitude by now.

After their breakfast, they went to the dome room and Lumos went back to her room. Junmyeon asked Sehun to put a protective wind around them so no one can hear what they will talk about. “Okay, you should’ve noticed by now. I’m not being paranoid, am I?”, Junmyeon said as soon as they were alone. “No, no. You’re right. She’s been acting weird. Earlier she didn’t seem to know my name. He kept calling me ‘boy’ before she heard Tao calling me by my name.”, Yifan said. “She’s still avoiding my hug. She always let me hug her in the morning.”, Tao complained pouting. “We should’ve notice it yesterday. Sorry Junmyeon.”, Luhan apologized. “Sorry too. I didn’t believe you yesterday.”, Jongdae apologized as well. “Me too. Sorry hyung.”, Baekhyun added. “It’s fine guys. No need to apologize, we’re all entitled with our own opinions. I understand and I know we’re all tired and stressed.”, Junmyeon said smiling at them. “What should we do next? We can’t leave her alone.”, Chanyeol asked. “Yifan and I can stay behind. You guys go to school and we’ll watch over her.”, Luhan volunteered. “Okay, call us if anything happens.”, Minseok agreed. “Thank you Yifan and Luhan.”, Junmyeon said. The ten guardians went back to Exordium and the other two went to check on their prisoners.

The day went by slowly for the ten guardians. They are unable to focus on their studies as they’re still worried with Lumos’ situation. They keep checking their phones for any update from Yifan or Luhan. Junmyeon excused himself from his 2nd class and called Yifan. “Is everything alright? How’s Lumos?”, Junmyeon asked. “She hasn’t leaved her room yet. I don’t hear any noise from her room.”, Yifan reported. “How about the prisoners?”, Junmyeon asked next. “As usual, bickering until Aimilios knock out Ypnos again.”, Yifan said then chuckled. “Okay, I’ll check with you again later during lunch. Thank you Yifan.”, Junmyeon replied a bit relieved. “No problem. Bye.”, Yifan said as he ended the call and Junmyeon went back to their classroom. “Is everything okay?”, Minseok asked his twin and Yixing looked at him as well. “Yup, Lumos is still in her room.”, Junmyeon informed the two. Minseok and Yixing nodded and went back to pay attention in their class. Junmyeon quickly sent a message to everyone to update them as well.

Lunch time came and the guardians are all seated together in the cafeteria. “I just checked with Yifan and they just had lunch with Lumos. He said that Lumos was just quiet and didn’t interact with them like the usual.”, Junmyeon informed the group and they nodded. “I’ve been thinking and I can’t helpto think that she’s not actually Lumos.”, Junmyeon said after a while. “What do you mean hyung?”, Tao asked. “I mean, she’s different. Her attitude, the way she talks to us and she’s been avoiding to be checked by Yixing as well. What if…”, Junmyeon trailed. “What if she’s Khamilia?”, Minseok continued. “Yeah, she can shape-shift, remember?”, Junmyeon asked them. “I think that’s actually a possibility given the circumstances.”, Kyungsoo agreed. “We have to be really careful around her. We need to make sure first.”, Chanyeol added. “I know! We can test her!”, Jongdae said excitedly at the idea he thought of. “How are we going to do that hyung?”, his brother asked. “His pathetic brothers”, Jongdae said as he smiled smugly. The others brighten up at his idea. “Ooooh! This is gonna be fun!”, Baekhyun said and high-fived Jongdae. They love annoying the pathetic brothers and they’re excited to see their reaction when they see Lumos again or possibly their sister. “For sure they will know if it’s their sister and not Lumos. Good thinking dude. I didn’t know you’re smart.”, Chanyeol teased Jongdae and the rest laughed. “Yaaah!”, Jongdae whined. “Okay, I’ll inform Yifan and Luhan to not let Lumos get near the Aimilios and Ypnos before we come back.”, Junmyeon said, agreeing to their plan.

“But what should we do if she is actually Khamilia? And how can we get the real Lumos back?”, Sehun asked. The group is silenced again. “I’m worried of Yifan-ge and Luhan-ge. If she’s actually Khamilia, they are both in danger right now.”, Tao added his worries. “Maybe we should go back to Elyxion now?”, Jongin suggested. “If we do that, she might think we’re already onto her.”, Kyungsoo replied. “Kyungsoo’s right. Let’s just wait after our classes. Let’s trust Yifan and Luhan for now.”, Minseok agreed. “As for how we’re going to handle Khamilia, we need to trap her first and prevent her from shape-shifting maybe by freezing her?”, Junmyeon suggested as he looks at his twin. Minseok nodded at him. “I think I can handle her regenerative powers. I can slow it down.”, Tao added. “How about the mind-control thing?”, Chanyeol asked. Their expressions darken. It’s a power they don’t know how to defend themselves from or how to counter it. “I don’t think she can control all of our minds at one time.”, Kyungsoo said. “We just have to attack her first then?”, Jongdae asked. “Well, offense is the best defense anyway.”, Baekhyun said. The bell rang ending their conversation. They all went back to their classes and agreed to meet up at the portal after class.

After a few more hours of lessons, the classes finally ended. The maknaes were the first to arrive at the portal and the sat on the grass while waiting for their hyungs. “Are you guys scared? Looks like this will lead to another fight.”, Jongin asked the two. “Yeah, I just hope no one will get hurt. This will end soon enough.”, Tao replied. “What are we going to do after all this?”, Sehun asked. “Hmmm. I don’t know but I hope we get to keep our powers.”, Jongin said smiling. “For Yifan, Luhan and me, we might go back to China.”, Tao replied as well. “You mean for good? You’re going to leave us?”, Jongin asked, surprised at his friend’s answer. “Well, you can always visit us if Lumos let us keep our powers, right?”, Tao responded. “Of course, we will. But it’s going to be different not seeing you guys every day.”, Jongin assured Tao. “We can figure it out later, but for now, let’s just get this fight over with.”, Tao said.

A few more moments of talking about random things, the rest of the guardians arrived. They went through the portal and was greeted by Yifan and Luhan. “Where is she?”, asked Junmyeon. “She’s out in the garden.”, Luhan replied. They all went to the equipment room first and get changed with their fighting gears then they head outside to greet Lumos. “Oh! You’re all back! Nice outfits guys!”, Lumos exclaimed as they see them walking towards her. “Hi! Uhm. Thanks, we were wondering if you would like to check on our prisoners first? Maybe you can get them to talk and give information about Khamilia.”, Junmyeon said. Lumos flinched a little but then just nodded. “Sure. Where are they?”, she asked the guardians. “Still in the arena.”, Yifan replied. “Okay, lead the way guys.”, Lumos said. “She doesn’t know the way, does she?”, Baekhyun whispered. “What was that boy?”, Lumos asked. “Oh! Nothing I just said I hope they’ll talk now”, Baekhyun covered then sighed in relief when Lumos just turned ahead and continued following Yifan.

Upon their arrival in the arena, they let Lumos step in front of the glass box containing the Aimilios and Ypnos. The two brothers flinched when they saw Lumos which the guardians noticed as they watch their reaction. “Hmmm. How are you guys?”, Lumos asked the two smiling smugly at them. The two brothers didn’t dare to speak, Ypnos visibly shuddering and sweating like he’s afraid. Ypnos looked at the guardians, “I told you to be careful, brats! You’re getting us all killed.”, Ypnos said. The guardians are now on high alert ready to take action, backing away from Lumos. “You fucking idiot! When will you learn to shut the fuck up?”, Aimilios scolded his brother and knocked him out again. Although the guardians enjoyed the pathetic brothers’ banters, they now have to face Lumos or rather Khamilia. Judging by the brothers’ reaction, they’re suspicion is right.

“Where is the real Lumos?!”, Yifan shouted. Khamilia sighed, “Oh for fuck’s sake, why do I have these 2 idiots as brothers. I’ll deal with you two later”. Khamilia turned around and revealed her true face. “Hello guardians. I see you didn’t completely trust me. I must say that was smart of you guys.”, Khamilia said as he walks towards them. “Where is Lumos?!”, Yifan asked again. “She’s back at Exo’luxion. But I don’t think you’ll able to see her again. You know, because you’ll be dead in a while. But don’t worry I’ll make sure she sees your dead bodies.”, Khamilia replied and laughed. “Shit! I hate her laugh. Makes me want to tear her throat out and wrap her mouth with it.”, Jongdae muttered. “Eww. Gross hyung!”, Jongin said to his brother with face in disgust.

“But first things first. Don’t you guys think this ratio is unfair? I mean, 12 on 1?”, Khamilia said then smirked. “Oh nooo. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”, Minseok said. “Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t bring my pets with me, if that’s what you’re worrying about. They’re really boring you see.”, Khamilia said as she heard Minseok. “Besides, I found a better way to have fun with you guys.”, Khamilia said and winked at them. “Let’s just attack now. Minseok-hyung, freeze her!”, Junmyeon said. Minseok was about to make a move but then Khamilia snapped her fingers. Minseok stood still and then walked straight to Khamilia’s side then face his friends. The others were surprised. “Minseok-hyung! What are you doing?!”, Baekhyun shouted. “Oh, he’s not going to respond to you. He’s my new pet now.”, Khamilia said and laughed again while the guardians stared at her with horror. “Hmm. Let’s see, who else can I use…”, Khamilia think out loud then snapped her fingers again. This time, Sehun, Jongin, Jongdae, Baekhyun and Yifan stood still like Minseok then walked next to him at Khamilia’s side. “Sehunnie, no!”, Junmyeon shouted but Sehun didn’t responded. “Babe! Come back here. C’mon, this is not funny!”, Chanyeol shouted at his boyfriend. “Jongin-ah, please don’t!”, Kyungsoo said screamed pushing down his fear. “Yifan-ge! Not you too, please!”, Tao begged. “This is bad.”, Yixing muttered. “What are we going to do?”, Luhan asked.

Khamilia laughed again, “Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”. The remaining guardians glared at her. “What did you do to them!?”, Junmyeon shouted with so much anger. “I’m going to let them kill you, of course! Then kill themselves after. I’m a genius or what?”, Khamilia replied and laughed again. “You fucking shit! You’re going to pay for this. I’m going to burn you alive!”, Chanyeol threatened her. “Oh, my dear boy, I don’t think you can. Not unless you kill your friends first before you get to me.” Khamilia replied, unfazed by Chanyeol’s threat. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?”.

### To be continued...


	11. Love Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We are aiming at each other, and everything is frozen.  
> I hear your voice sounds so harsh.  
> From these thoughts, I begin to choke.  
> Oh oh oh oh oh Aye ye~
> 
> With eyes closed,  
> Each of our hearts is tightly closed.  
> We are moving away from each other...”

# Love Shot

“Sehunnie, stop! Please! I don’t want to hurt you!”, Junmyeon begged as he deflect the attacks of Sehun. He only focused on defense and do not dare to attack his boyfriend. At the other side of the arena, a similar scenario is happening to Kyungsoo and Jongin. “Jongin-ah! Snap out of it! You’re stronger than this!”, Kyungsoo says as he avoided the sword from slashing him. “Yixing-hyung! Switch with me! I might burn Baekhyun if we continue. I can handle Jongdae”, Chanyeol asked Yixing as he shoot upwards to avoid the laser lights of Baekhyun aimed at him. Yixing agreed and tried to tackle Baekhyun down while running away from Jongdae. “Yifan-ge! Wake up! You can’t do this to me!”, Tao shouted. “Guys! We have to do something! We can’t just avoid their attacks forever.”, Luhan said as he lifts Minseok while avoiding to be frozen on spot. Khamilia is just watching them, laughing and enjoying herself. “Good luck with that boys! I suggest you go with the killing part already.”, she yelled from her spot. The guardians just ignored her as they’re busy defending themselves and doesn’t have time to pay attention to her at the moment.

“Guys, I have an idea. But we have to make sure that Khamilia will not caught on this plan.”, Yixing said quietly through their intercom. “What’s the plan hyung?”, Chanyeol whispered. “I think the antidote for Ypnos powers can also work on them. This telepathy and mind-control thing are similar. Just let me cure them but we have to be subtle. After I healed them, they need to pretend that they’re still under Khamilias’ control. Then we just have to find an opening to attack Khamilia.”, Yixing explained. “I think that will work. Let’s get with it. Start with Baekhyun first. We’ll need him to trick Khamilia.”, Junmyeon said. “Okay. Please watch my back.”, Yixing said as he avoided the laser light and slid down to knock down Baekhyun and hold him on the ground for a while, looking like he’s attacking Baekhyun but as soon as he touched Baekhyun, he started letting the antidote effect flow. Baekhyun stop struggling for a while and blinked. “Baekhyun, continue struggling and listen.”, Yixing whispered and Baekhyun followed without asking questions. “Continue to attack me okay? Pretend you’re still under Khamilia’s control. I need to heal the rest.”, Baekhyun nodded and pushes Yixing away from him. “Babe, I’m back! I’m sorry for attacking you.”, Baekhyun whispered in his intercom while his back is facing Khamilia. “Thank god! Welcome back babe!”, Chanyeol replied and winked at him from afar. “Hyung, you do know we can hear you two right? Tone down the flirting please.”, Tao complained while rolling his eyes.

“Yixing-hyung, switch with me again. Cure Jongdae next. He’s the most dangerous among them right now. He might strike us with lightning any moment now.”, Chanyeol said. “Okay. Baekhyun shoot me to your boyfriend’s direction. I need to get near them without Khamilia noticing. Then you can play fight with your boyfriend.”, Yixing instructed and Baekhyun tried not to giggle and keep a straight blank face. He shoots laser lights near Yixing, aiming just enough to missed him. After a few running and jumping, Yixing reached Jongdae and tackled him while Chanyeol faked tripping Baekhyun so he ended up on top of him. He winked and kissed him quickly before getting up and started their fake fight. Chanyeol shoots fire balls at Baekhyun’s feet earning a clap from Khamilia as she sees that the guardian is beginning to attack as well. “That’s more I like it!”, Khamilia shouted.

While Khamilia is busy watching the fake fight of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, Yixing took this opportunity to cure Jongdae. “Jongdae, pretend to fight me okay? Khamilia can’t know you’re back with your senses.”, Yixing whispered and Jongdae nodded. He continued zapping Yixing here and there. “Jongdae’s back!”, Yixing announced. “Hell yeah! I’m back. That bitch is gonna pay!”, Jongdae hissed in their intercom. “Calm down Jongdae. You’ll have your moment. Let’s get back the rest first. Uggh!”, Junmyeon said as he was knocked down by Sehun. “I’m coming Myeonnie, switch with me. I’ll take care of Sehun next.”, Yixing said as he run to Junmyeon’s side. Jongdae followed them and aimed one shot between the two. “Go now Yixing-hyung.”, Jongdae muttered. Yixing run directly to Sehun then tackle the younger, curing him as they both fell down the ground. “Sehunnie, pretend to fight okay?”, Yixing whispered and the younger understood immediately.

Sehun created a small tornado and pretend to chase Yixing with it until Yixing reached Kyungsoo and Jongin. “Kyungsoo double team with me. I need to get to Jongin. It will be harder to catch him when he keeps teleporting.”, Yixing said. “Hyung, trap me with Jongin.”, Sehun suggested. “Okay, this might hurt a little.”, Kyungsoo warned then captured both the younger and Yixing pretended that he’ll cut them with his knife. Yixing was able to heal Jongin before he can teleport. “Jongin-ah, punch me now. Quick before Khamilia notices!”, Yixing said. Jongin did what he was told and punched Yixing making the older fall down the ground. “Sorry hyung.”, Jongin whispered in the intercom. Kyungsoo immediately run to Yixing and made a small dome from the ground to protect both of them while the other attack timidly on the dome from the outside. “Are you okay Yixing-hyung?”, Kyungsoo asked inside the dome. “Yes, I’m fine. I need to go to Minseok next. Luhan, bring him near us.”, Yixing said through the intercom. Luhan immediately lifted Minseok and brought him down hard next to Yixing. “Sorry Minseok, Khamilia’s watching I need to make it believable. Yixing please heal him.”, Luhan said, worried for his friend. “I’ll take care of him. Sehun, fight Luhan for now.”, Yixing instructed. Sehun and Luhan faked fight going nearer where Khamilia is to distract her. Kyungsoo created a wall tall enough to hide Yixing and Minseok from the view and continued to fight Jongin.

After a while Minseok is also back and fake fight Yixing as well. “Sehun, Luhan can you help bringing Yifan down here. He’s unreachable at the moment.”, Yixing said as he sees Yifan flying around and Tao trying to slow him down. “Luhan-hyung, throw me against Yifan-hyung. I’ll make sure he goes down.”, Sehun suggested. “Okay Sehun-ah. Sorry for this.”, Luhan apologized in advance. He then threw Sehun against Yifan and the two went down near Yixing. “Yixing, now”, Luhan said and Yixing spring into action.

Finally, all of them are back. They are still fake fighting, making the fight as believable as possible. “Sehunnie, create a tornado now. I’ll combine it with mine then let’s trap Khamilia in it.”, Junmyeon instructed his boyfriend. Sehun mustered the strongest tornado he can and Junmyeon immediately add water into the tornado. “Baekhyun, blind her. Jongdae be ready with your lightning.”, Junmyeon instructed next. Baekhyun flashed the brightest light he can against Khamilia and she screamed at this. Sehun and Junmyeon immediately trapped her in the tornado. “Die bitch!”, Jongdae screamed as he strike a lightning down the tornado. Khamilia was struck down and fell into the ground.

For a while she didn’t move but due to her regenerative power, she is now slowly getting up. “Tao! Slow her healing down!”, Minseok yelled. Tao slowed her down then Minseok frozed Khamilia then trap her inside a block of ice. “Did we win?”, Jongin asked then suddenly the block of ice shattered. “Do you really think you can easily beat me like that?”, Khamilia smugly asked as she stood up straight. She picked up one of the sharp iced shattered and run directly towards them at great speed. They all scattered and avoided her. “Wait! Why is she super-fast?”, Chanyeol said as he threw a flame at her but she dodged it easily. “That’s because I have both the powers of my idiot brothers.”, she explained. “Shit! This is bad.”, Baekhyun said. “Tao! Slow her down!”, Yifan yelled. Before Tao can slow her down, she disappeared from their view. “Great now she’s invisible! Baekhyun!”, Jongdae yelled. Baekhyun concentrated and they saw Khamilia approaching Junmyeon at full speed, prepared to stab him with the sharp ice but Junmyeon was not able to react.

“Junmyeon!”; “Noooo!!!”, they shouted simultaneously as they run to Junmyeon. Sehun got to him first, “Myeonnie, no, no, no. Please!”, Sehun cried as he cradles him. “Myeonnie, shit. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Yixiiing!”, Minseok yelled for Yixing as he melted the ice in Junmyeon’s chest. Yixing came immediately and without saying anything start to heal Junmyeon. “C’mon Yixing. You can do this. Save your bestfriend.”, Yixing says to himself as tears flow from his eyes, hands shaking over Junmyeon’s bloodied chest. Sehun and Minseok created a shield around them while the other guardians continue to fight Khamilia, more determined to stop her. “You fucking bitch!”, Jongdae shouted as he conjured another lightning at Khamilia. “Aaaaaaaagh!”, Chanyeol shouted as he produces flame that devours Khamilia whole. Both guardians using their anger to fuel their powers. Baekhyun now reveals Khamilia wherever she went and Tao successfully slowed her down. Kyungsoo then shoot vines from the ground to hold her still while Luhan throw anything he can at her and Jongin and Yifan slash her with their daggers. All those attacks but she’s still surviving.

“Junmyeon, c’mon fight. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave us. We can’t lose you! Pleeeaase.”, Minseok plead as he cries harder. “Myeonnie, don’t do this. I love you! I love you so much. Please fight.”, Sehun said as he sobbed and cried miserably, frustrated that he can’t do anything else while the love of his life is hanging by a thread. “Junmyeon, you have to help me heal you. Fight, okay? You’re strong. Stronger than any of us”, Yixing said, crying as well, as he gave his all in healing Junmyeon.

“She’s still regenerating even I slow her down. I don’t think my power works on her regeneration.”, Tao said as sweat drip down his head. “Then we keep attacking her!”, Yifan screamed as he slashes through Khamilia’s flesh once more but it only heals. Khamilia is already covered with blood but she’s still alive and laughing like a maniac. “You’ll fucking pay for what you did to hyung!”, Jongin screamed as he stabs her but it still healed. “Hahahaha! You won’t be able to kill me you weak bastards”, Khamilia screamed at them. “Shut the fuck up!”, Kyungsoo shouted and made the vine hold her tighter, almost ripping her. “You know your leader is weak right? Why did you even make him your leader? So fucking pathetic, dying with just a simple stab at the chest.”, Khamilia commented. “SHUT UP!”, Sehun yelled from the side of Junmyeon. He gave him to Minseok then marched to where Khamilia is. “I’m not gonna show you mercy you fucking bitch!” He said as he raised his hands and slowly suck all the air out of her body. “Can you feel the air living your body?”, Sehun asked with eyes peircing with anger and Khamilia, for the first time shows a sign of fear on her face. She knows that this is something her powers can’t counter. The rest of the guardians stared at Sehun, surprised and a little bit scared of their youngest capabilities. They never saw this much anger on him and it scared them what he can actually do.

“Se-Sehunniee. Please don’t. S-stop.”, Junmyeon said weakly as he sits up. Sehun was surprised and immediately stop and run to Junmyeon. “Myeonnie. I’m here, I’m here. You’re okay. You’re alive!”, Sehun said as he cups Junmyeon’s face then kissed him and hugged him. “Don’t do that again, okay? Promise me.”, Junmyeon whispered in his ear as he hugs him back. “Okay, hyung. I won’t. I promise”, Sehun cried. “Thank you for saving me Yixing!”, Junmyeon said as he hugs Yixing next. “I thought I’m gonna lose my twin.”, Minseok cried as he joins the hug. “Naah! You’re stuck with me forever.”, Junmyeon said smiling.

Junmyeon stood up and walk towards the other guardians. They also hugged him tight, glad that their leader survived. Junmyeon approached Khamilia slowly in the ground as he glared at her. “Death is too much easy for a punishment for you.”, Junmyeon said to her. “Tell us where is Lumos.”, Junmyeon commanded. “And why will I tell you that?”, Khamilia smirked. Junmyeon smirked back, “Look, you bitch. I may have stopped Sehun from killing you but that doesn’t mean we can’t make any damage to you.”. “If you haven’t still figure it out, I can fucking heal myself.”, Khamilia replied. “Well, that’s because you’re regeneration powers flow through your blood. But do you know that I can control not just water? I can control any form of liquid and that includes blood.”, Junmyeon explained and smiled smugly. “You’re bluffing. It won’t work on me.”, Khamilia said with a hint of fear in her voice. “Would you like me to demonstrate? Chanyeol, burn her hands.”, Junmyeon said to the tall guardian. “With pleasure.”, Chanyeol said as he shot a flame in Khamilia’s hand. Junmyeon raised his hands and closed his fist to stop the circulation in her hands. The burn in Khamilias hand didn’t healed. Khamilia looked at Junmyeon with mixed surprise and fear. The other guardians stared at awe and fear at their leader. Looks like the Leader-maknae is a dangerous combination. They might need to tone down their teasing. “Okay! Okay! I’ll talk! She’s in the hidden dungeon of the castle underground.”, Khamilia finally spilled.

“Of course, there’s a dungeon. Classic villain castle.”, Baekhyun said. “The monsters might be guarding the dungeon not the castle.”, Chanyeol added. “Jongin, Yifan, Luhan, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Can you guys go back to Exo’luxion and get Lumos please?”, Junmyeon asked. “Aye! Aye! Captain.”, Luhan replied. “I’ll be back”, Jongin said to Kyungsoo and kissed him goodbye. The five head out to the portal and the rest put Khamilia in the glass box together with her brothers. The three are now squeezed with each other inside the box. “Comfy?”, Jongdae teased the three and the rest laughed. “Fucking brat!”, Khamilia muttered.

The guardians decided to wait in the arena for the others and Lumos. Suho is seated against the wall with Sehun and Minseok both in his side, refusing to leave him alone after what happened earlier. Yixing is laying on the floor in front of them, too exhausted with all the healing he did. Kyungsoo is also sitting beside Sehun with Tao resting on his shoulder at his other side. Jongdae decided to lay down next to Yixing after he annoyed the hell out of their prisoners. “I’m hungry.”, Sehun said as he hugs Junmyeon tighter. “Me too.”, Tao second. “I’ll cook later when the rest arrives. What do you guys want to eat?”, Kyungsoo asked. “Kimchi Spaghetti!”, Jongdae shouted. “Where is your energy coming from Jongdae? How can you still shout like that?”, Minseok chuckled at the younger. After a few more moments, the rest arrived with Lumos who looks exhausted as well but otherwise unharmed. “Lumos!”, Tao screamed with glee as he runs to the guardian and hugged her tight. Lumos hugged him back and patted him in the head. The rest of the guardians hugged them forming a group hug. “So freaking sweet! Can you not do that in front of us?”, Khamilia said annoyed. “Do you want us to just remove your eyes then”, Sehun replied and stuck his tongue at them. “Brat!”, the three shouted in unison.

The group head out to the patio as Kyungsoo cooked their food with the help of Minseok and Chanyeol again. The rest filled in Lumos with what happened since she was taken by Aimilios. “Thank you, my dears. I really can’t thank you enough. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to fight beside you yet again.”, Lumos said after hearing their stories. “You don’t have to apologize Lumos. This is what we trained for. You helped us more than enough.”, Junmyeon said. “I’m so proud of you Suho. I’m glad you survived. I’m proud of all of you!”, Lumos praised them. The guardians smiled widely at this, feeling proud of themselves as well. They know they did their best and they worked hard and won in the end. After a while, Kyungsoo, Minseok and Chanyeol arrived with the food. They all ate while happily chatting and again with teasing. They avoided teasing the leader-maknae, of course. They still haven’t forgotten what those two are capable of.

“Lumos? What will happen to the Red Force?”, Minseok asked after they finished their food. “I think it’s better to keep them as prisoner in this realm and not let them go back to Exo’luxion. I’ll prepare a special prison for them but for now, they can stay in that glass box. I’m glad I created that one before all these mess happened.”, Lumos replied. “Will we have to return our powers now?”, Jongin asked. Lumos smiled and said, “No, my dear. It stays with you until the next generation of guardians.”. “Nice!”, Jongdae and Chanyeol shouted together then high-fived. “How about our training? Can we still continue to train here?”, Baekhyun asked. “Of course, my dear. We’ll continue your training. You’re all welcome to stay here, whenever you like. This is your home as well.”, Lumos assured them. The others smiled widely. They loved that they have their second home where they can be with each other.

“We should celebrate our win! Let’s have a getaway trip!”, Jongdae suggested. “Call!”, the others agreed. “You should come too, Lumos!”, Kyungsoo added. “Yeah! It will be fun!”, Jongdae added. “Okay, but we need to make sure the prison for the Red Force is arranged first and also, we need to repair all the damage in our home.”, Lumos said. “We’ll help!”, Yifan said. “Yeah! It’ll be faster if we use our powers to help.”, Luhan added. “Thank you, my dears. I’ll accept that help.”, Lumos said smiling. “Okay then, let’s clean up first and rest. We should begin tomorrow. The earlier we finish, the earlier we can go on that trip.”, Lumos added as she motioned the guardians to get up and go to their rooms.

After the guardians clean up and prepare for bed, they all went to Lumos’ room. “Lumos? Can we come in?”, Luhan asked as he knocked on the door. “Come in, my dears.”, Lumos replied behind the door. They all came with their own pillows and blankets. “Is it okay if we sleep over here tonight? We don’t want you to be alone.”, Tao asked as they entered. Lumos chuckled, “Sure! I would love that!”. They all find their spot in the floor next to Lumos bed. “Good night children. Sweet dreams!”, Lumos said as she turned off the lights. “Good night Lumos.”, they all said softly as they close their eyes to sleep.

### The End


End file.
